A school burglar was caught after being identified by a combination of different officers.
Craig Fallon managed to sneak in and out of the Forest Fields-based school without being spotted.
Unfortunately for him, however, CCTV cameras were rolling and filmed him as he helped himself to items.
Fallon filled a backpack with laptops; quantities of cash and any other belongings he could get his hands on.
Following a search for the exit, he finally managed to force his way out through a window and escape into the night.
Having reviewed footage from the break-in on 3 December last year, county priority tasking team officers identified Fallon as the intruder.
His face and details were then circulated which ultimately led to his detection and arrest a few days later on 10 December.
City central neighbourhood officers spotted Fallon while they were out conducting a patrol of the Radford area.
The neighbourhood policing team duly detained him in the street, at which point they found cannabis and crack cocaine in his possession too.
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Fallon, of Bestwood Road, Bulwell, was ultimately charged with burglary, possessing Class A drugs and possessing Class B drugs.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (20 March), the 41-year-old pleaded guilty to each charge and was jailed for 14 months that same day.
Inspector Elizabeth Gaskin, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This case was a great example of our different policing teams working in tandem to track down a criminal.
“Despite managing to break into a school, steal items and then flee into the night, Craig Fallon ultimately wasn’t able to get away with what he’d done.
“That’s thanks to the actions of officers from the county priority tasking and city central neighbourhood policing teams, who between them managed to catch Fallon.
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“While one team managed to ID him from the CCTV footage, the other then spotted him on the streets while they were on patrol and arrested him.
“Burglary – whether at a home, or a commercial property like a school – is a very serious offence that deserves to be met with a fitting sentence.
“We’re therefore pleased to see Fallon has now received an immediate prison sentence for his actions that evening.”
