Officers investigating a series of robberies where Rolex watches have been stolen from victims’ wrists in Dorset are renewing their plea for members of the public to remain vigilant.
A number of incidents have been reported in recent days, including a robbery in Baiter Park in Poole on Monday 26 July 2021, an incident in Poundbury on Saturday 17 July 2021 and two further robberies in East Dorset on Wednesday 14 July 2021 and Thursday 15 July 2021.
Detective Sergeant Karen Penn, of Dorset Police’s Priority Crime Team, said: “Each of these incidents is subject to a full investigation and we are doing everything we can to identify those involved. We are working with other forces who have experienced similar incidents and sharing intelligence as part of our ongoing enquiries.
“We would like to renew our plea for members of the public to remain vigilant, particularly if they are wearing expensive watches or items of jewellery. The victims in these cases are generally men aged around 70 or older and we would urge members of the public to talk to any elderly relatives who could be targeted by this kind of offending to make them aware of these incidents.
“The offenders, who are described in most cases as Eastern European women and speaking in broken English, often pose as people working for a charity and we would remind the public that a genuine charity worker should have no issue with showing their identification if required to do so.
“We would continue to urge anyone who has been a victim of an offence of this nature to report it to police and we would also like to hear from anyone who has come across expensive watches such as Rolexes being offered for sale in suspicious circumstances.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email [email protected] or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55210086480. Alternatively, to stay 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call freephone 0800 555 111.
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