The man who is going round impersonating a police officer to rob pensioners is not only despicable. He is a double menace because people like him undermine public confidence in the police force.

Anyone who will con his way into the home of a 90 year old and steal £150 from her by pretending to want to mark the money with a security pen - as this criminal did the other day in Girlington - is beneath contempt.

The man went through a carefully pre-planned procedure: dressing as a police officer and carrying false identification, coming up with a phoney story about hunting someone in connection with a burglary, offering to security-mark the woman's money and then asking for a cup of tea so that he could run off with it while she was in the kitchen.

There have been several similar robberies in the Girlington area and might have been others elsewhere. This man needs to be caught. Elderly people must be protected from him. There is little point in them demanding to see proof of identity, as many now do, if what they are presented with is bogus but convincing.

The police are particularly keen to speak to people who might have been victims but did not report the incident to them. They need to come forward even if they might not want to make any fuss, because they just might be able to come up with the information which helps the police to arrest this criminal before he can claim any more victims.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.