BBC documentary crew to return force for second series

MURDER victim Jay Sudra’s story features in the sixth installment of BBC series Crime and Punishment – now available to watch via the force’s intranet site.

The 21 year-old’s final journey from an evening shift to his family home in Erdington in July 2010 ended in tragedy when an unknown assailant attacked him from behind with a knife for no apparent reason.

Jay was fatally stabbed through the heart and sadly died in his mother’s arms after collapsing on her doorstep.

Detectives soon realised that commercial and residential CCTV coverage would be the key to solving the crime and catching Jay’s killer.

They were able to build a picture of the suspect’s activities prior to the incident – tracking his movements from a fast food restaurant to boarding a bus with a friend.

Imagery analysts then matched the man on the bus to the man caught on CCTV attacking Jay through close analysis of the suspect’s appearance and his gait as he walked.

The breakthrough came when the bus image was released to the media and Lamar Prince, then aged 15, handed himself in to police.

Although Prince refused to reveal any more information about his whereabouts that evening but mobile telephone analysis placed him at the scene at the right time and further analysis of his home computer showed that he had been reading news coverage of the story in the days following the murder.

Prince was convicted of Jay’s murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum tariff of 14 years – an exceptionally long sentence for a youth of his age.

Also included in this episode are features on Bristol Prison’s Integrated Drug Treatment Scheme which works with prisoners to break the cycle of drug addiction and crime; the force’s breed scheme for police dogs; the use of virtual ID parades in delivering an expedited service to victims and witnesses; and three generations from a policing family show how calls for service have changed over the last century.

View episode four here.

Following the success of the BBC programmes, the force has agreed to take part in another series, this time focusing on the innovative ways police are now able to catch criminals in their tracks – capture houses, for example.

The series will also look at the efforts of WMP to make quick arrests on crimes which affect the community, such as burglary, and how the force’s operations can act as an effective deterrent. They will also look at initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour.

[box_dark]Over the next few weeks, a researcher from Topical TV will be in the force area looking for suitable subjects. If you have an idea that you think might be suitable, please contact Jackie Harrison on 8800 3203 or speak to your local communications officer.[/box_dark]

The remaining four programmes from the first series will be released over coming months, enabling police officers and staff to catch up on the behind-the-scenes show.

Please note, for our external readers, that these films are only available to view internally by West Midlands Police officers and staff.