Coat and keys stolen from pub

ilesmark

Hi all

Hope this is in the right part of the site.

On Sat pm I went drinking in a local bar and wore my lovely North Face coat on the way there, it being a cold night. Once inside, I took it off and put it in a pile with a load of other coats. End of the evening - the bloody thing was gone, and with it the house keys, the keys for my locker at work and my bike which were all on a bunch in 1 of the pockets. I had to call my housemate to let me in which, at 4 AM, went down like a cup of cold sick as you can imagine. I left my number with the pub people in case anyone handed it in but they didn't seem to really care.

I know there weren't any address details in that coat but I liked it a lot and having it taken like that from a place where I've had so many good times in the past really upset me.

That pub would almost certainly have CCTV, wouldn't it? So one question is - would it be worth reporting it to the police? As in, would they actually do anything about it, in terms of investigation?

I also don't want to demand that the pub people hand over the CCTV footage, only to be told that they won't unless the police request it and then find the police don't do anything about it either. And of course whether it would do any good anyway even if the thief was identified from the CCTV.

I have looked in the local charity shops and Cash Converter-type places, but that was probably a waste of time - if you steal a North Face coat you're not about to donate it to a charity shop, are you? And the secondhand shops didn't seem to deal in clothing by and large.

This has never happened to me before and I am not sure what to do, but from experience I know that other MSE people are good at coming up with angles/ideas I haven't thought of myself.

Anyone have any thoughts, or if this has also happened to you - please share it!

Thanks

M

frugal_mike

When someone snatched my girlfriends bag from inside our front door (that's the last time we'll ever forgets to lock it) the police definitely investigated. They didn't catch the criminal, but they did find the bag and some of the contents. Report it to them and see what they do.

ilesmark

Thanks - have actually just reported it online, so they should call me tmw.

arcon5

You don't really have any entitlement to the CCTV unless you are in it - in which case others should really be blurred out. In which case I doubt you're in the same frame as the coat so it wouldn't really help.
In fact, the pub have an obligation to protect the data they collect so could probably only give it to the police anyway.

You can report it to them, it could be a well known thief, but tbh it's unlikely you'll see the coat again.

Truepat

Make sure that the bar is aware of the issue and that you want them to keep the CCTV recordings from the relevant night (ideally if you can come up with a rough time it would be helpful). They can also review the footage in advance of the police requesting it.

You have informed the police so they should follow up.

It is bad enough losing a coat but if you are leaving it in a public area you should always make sure you lift anything important out (such as keys, wallets etc.).

Pollycat

I really empathise with you.

Someone half-inched my waterproof, windproof jacket in a pub.

It was my fault as I'd put it on the back of the chair and then we moved tables and I forgot to take it but it was only a few minutes after that I remembered it but it was gone. :mad:

I didn't report it but I did curse them, their children and their children's children, called down the 10 plagues of Egypt on them and threw in the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse for good measure.

Not sure it worked (we weren't knee-deep in locusts or frogs) but it sure made me feel better.

Sadly, I think you're going to have to chalk it down to experience.

duchy

Go back to the pub when it is quieter ....frankly at the end of a busy night all the staff would have wanted to do was go home and speak to a manager . They will be able to tell you if the specific area your coat was left was covered by CCTV once you know if it is they may take the time to look for you or may not have the time and tell you they will give it to the police if asked. The important thing is to make sure they know to keep it.

You could hit lucky ...that someone simply picked up the wrong coat whilst drunk and does bring it back in a few days but in my days of working in a pub it always amazed me how many people were really careless of their stuff after all in any pub you're essentially in a room full of strangers.

System

Now you've reported it to the police there is nothing more you can do. The police won't investigate and will just give you a crime number.

Going forward never leave anything important in an item you are leaving unattended and if the item is valuable keep an eye on it as someone could nick it, or use an official cloakroom to store it.

PZH

ilesmark wrote: »

...and with it the house keys, the keys for my locker at work and my bike which were all on a bunch in 1 of the pockets.

ilesmark wrote: »

I know there weren't any address details in that coat....

Personally, I'd be changing the locks anyway (but maybe that's just me)