Police have ‘positive line of enquiry’ after spate of Brae thefts
Andrew Hirst
Police have sought to reassure the public after a series of thefts left the community in shock.
A house and three vehicles in Brae were entered over the weekend – with cash, a laptop and recording equipment among the items stolen.
Chief inspector Stuart Clemenson said: “We are doing everything we possibly can to trace the perpetrators of these crimes and bring them to justice.
“We’ve got a positive line of enquiry which we are progressing and hope to provide an update in next 24-48 hours.”
Footage of two of the incidents have been widely shared on social media with hundreds commenting how angry and sickened they felt by what they saw.
Joanne Williams, whose car was entered sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday, said her work’s recording equipment had been stolen.
“It’s very disappointing to find out somebody has violated your privacy by entering your property or your car,” she said.
“It’s upsetting, it’s unnerving.
“Everyone feels a bit nervous, especially when you are looking out for older, more vulnerable neighbours.”
Miss Williams said it was particularly hard telling her child what had happened.
“My daughter now has a front door key for the first time since living here and it’s not a nice feeling,” she said.
“I don’t think people here will be happy or content until the thieves are caught.”
Miss Williams said police were carrying out door-to-door enquiries over the weekend.
At least two other people have also reported break-ins – with some commenting on social media that they had heard people trying their doors.
One of the videos (above) shows a man searching inside a car while another is enters a silver van nearby.
SIC convener Andrea Manson, who represents Shetland North, said she believed a number of Brae businesses also had footage which she hoped would help identify the offenders.
She said the community had been left “really upset” by what had happened.
“Shetland has always been the kind of place where you could brag that you could leave your door open,” she said.
“Some people don’t even have keys for their doors.
“What’s most upsetting and most worrying and what is really scaring people – because people are scared – is that this is the first time it’s an actual burglar operating in Shetland.”
While Ms Manson acknowledged there had been opportunistic thefts from time to time, she said she was unaware of any incident in the recent past whereby someone went out at night with the specific purpose of stealing from others.
Mr Clemenson acknowledged the crimes were “unnerving” for its victims and the community. However, he stressed there had been no violence or break-ins.
He described Brae as a “very honest and trustworthy” community where people had felt safe leaving doors unlocked.
While he said there was no reason that people should not be able to continue as they had done, once the situation settled down, in the meantime he called for folk to be more mindful of security.
“For now, the advice is people should look out for each other, lock their doors and maybe have a second look at the security.”
Anyone with information who can assist officers is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0917 of Saturday, 19 November.”
