'I can’t catch a break: My car was broken into in a high-crime Northampton neighbourhood – and the police and local shop won’t help me'

The incident happened in Arnold Road, in Semilong, on February 16 between 4am and 8am, according to the 32-year-old victim, when his 2010 BMW had its driver-side window smashed in.

Speaking to Chronicle and Echo, the victim said: “My car was parked on Arnold Road right beside Jimmy’s shop on the Barrack Road.

“Even in the dark I could make out broken glass scattered across the ground, and as I got closer, the window was completely smashed. Why my car? Why me? There’s actually a lot of drug taking in this area. I think it was a drug user.

“I went into the shop and asked if they’d seen anything. The camera outside was pointed directly at my car, so the footage would’ve captured everything. The lad behind the counter refused to show me, saying I’d have to go through the police to access it due to GDPR – though he did mention he thought the break-in had happened that morning.

“I called the police, explained everything, and was told they’d need to retrieve the footage themselves. Three weeks later, still no contact, no update, nothing.

“This isn’t the first time either. My car has been vandalised three times before – keyed bumper to bumper among other things.

“The repair costs are stressful enough, but it’s the lack of peace of mind that really wears you down – constantly second-guessing every time you park up.

“When there’s CCTV footage available and the police still don’t follow up, it’s not hard to see why this kind of thing keeps happening. There are no consequences, no deterrent.”

The victim contacted Chronicle and Echo as a last resort, prompting the newspaper to approach Northamptonshire Police on March 9.

A police spokeswoman said: “This incident happened sometime between February 15 at 9pm and February 16 at 8am and anyone with any information should contact us on 101 quoting incident number 26000094484.

“We understand the frustration of the victim in this case that we are unable to review 11 hours’ worth of CCTV but unfortunately, we have a finite amount of resources and have to prioritise crimes that pose the greatest threat, harm and risk.

“We understand how upsetting it is to be a victim of vehicle crime and we would always encourage people to report crimes and suspicious behaviour to us as it may be that we can advise victims on how they can obtain the CCTV themselves for our review.”

In response, the victim said: “It doesn’t make sense to me… you can fast forward through that in 10 to 15 minutes.

“I’m not surprised… time and time again when crimes have taken place there’s been a lack of response.”

Police later confirmed the victim could view the CCTV himself if the shop allowed it.

“If he can review the footage and see a clear facial picture of the offender, we would investigate,” a spokesperson said.

On the shop’s GDPR concerns, police said: “The GDPR would relate to the member of the public seeing sensitive information about other people such as PIN numbers or card details in the store. If he is only viewing the external camera which covers his car, the only thing he will be seeing will be things out in public that he would be able to see anyway such as other people’s number plates.

“He could then just take a video or photo of the screen of the offender committing the offence. The shop could still say no, at which point we wouldn’t be able to compel them to hand it over.”

This newspaper passed this message on to the shop, but it said it wanted direct confirmation from police, again citing GDPR concerns.

This newspaper then attempted to facilitate contact between police and the shop via email, but the email address the shop provided was invalid.

The shop declined to comment when approached again by phone, and police were also unable to reach them by phone.

Reacting to the situation, the victim said: “I find it extremely weird how you’ve got confirmation from the police and you’re still reluctant to give the footage.

“You’d think a local shop would’ve been more helpful than the police. If he was in the same situation, I’m sure he’d feel the same anger.”

As well as being unable to get justice, the victim has had to shoulder the financial cost.

He said: “The quotes I was getting were between £290 and £370.

“I had to call around loads of places just to get it cheaper. I managed to get it for £165 luckily. You don’t have that spare… especially now with finances the way they are.

“You try and do everything correctly… but every single turn you lose out. I can’t catch a break.”