Prison Van Ambush in UK

The BBC has an article about a gang that ambush a prison van and released one of the passengers.  I have seen this sort of thing many times on TV and in movies but didn't realise it happened in real life as well.

The article doesn't mention how they stopped the van but

West Mercia Police said three balaclava wearing men carrying sledgehammers, smashed the windscreen and driver's window of the prison escort van.

Digging into a Cash Machine

The BBC reports that a gang of thieves in Manchester built a hundred foot long tunnel into an ATM machine.

The passageway was about 4ft (1.2m) tall and had been fitted with lighting and roof supports.
...
Officers believe the people responsible could have spent up to six months digging the passageway.

Unfortunately

However, the thieves only escaped with about £6,000 - because the machine had not been re-filled after the New Year bank holiday.

Yahoo also have an article.

Failed Armed Robbery in Paris

The BBC has a summary of a failed armed robbery at a safe deposit centre in Paris.  One guard was kill in an explosion when the gang, who were well armed and dressed like police, tried to blow their way into the facility.

The Sydney Morning Herald also has a story.

Art Theft in Forbidden City

Yahoo reports that nine art objects have been stolen from a temporary exhibit in the Forbidden City in Beijing.  Apparently the thief broke through a wall to get at the items.

(The BBC also has an article about the theft.)

Stealing Vegetables

The New York Times has an article about a gang that steals truck loads of produce.  The interesting thing is not what was stolen - a trailer of produce can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars - but the way it was done.  The thieves set up their own trucking company, got the contract to deliver the goods then drove away with it never to be seen again.

via Bruce Schneier

Beware of NYPD license plate readers

The New York Times has an article about the NYPD's license readers and how they have been used to solve a variety of crimes.

Pick Pockects Fade Away

Slate has an article on the declining state of pickpocketing in the US.

Pickpocketing in America was once a proud criminal tradition, rich with drama, celebrated in the culture, singular enough that its practitioners developed a whole lexicon to describe its intricacies. Those days appear to be over. "Pickpocketing is more or less dead in this country," says Harvard economist Edward Glaeser, whose new book Triumph of the City, deals at length with urban crime trends. "I think these skills have been tragically lost."

via Bruce Schneier