Coraider

Durham

2007-11-27T16:17:00.001Z

Durham Constabulary are the latest force to join the Bumblebee Auctions system.

They will begin selling property from the system soon.

Surrey Syndication

2007-10-30T12:10:00.001Z

Surrey Police, Bumblebee Auctions' founding police force, has begun using some of the system's extensive syndication services to display its own auctions on its own site with its own branding at http://www.surrey.police.uk/bumblebee.asp as well as on www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk.

Other forces who utilise the facility have found it to be a significant traffic generator and a useful way of promoting auctions to members of the public within their jurisdiction.

South East England

2007-09-28T14:59:00.000Z

This video above was shown to our police clients from around the country at the fifth Bumblebee User Group meeting in September 2007. It illustrates how the Kent, Sussex and Surrey forces have used the system to cooperate in returning stolen property.

The One Show

2007-08-21T11:28:00.000Z

The One Show is a topical magazine programme broadcast weekdays at 7pm on BBC One.

After coverage in the consumer segment of the show in a piece on police car auctions, Bumblebee Auctions served up nearly a quarter of a million pages in a single day to set a new record for the site.

Bumblebee Auctions is now the preferred method for Sussex Police's Financial Investigation Unit to dispose of cars obtained under Confiscation Orders in asset recovery through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Landmarks

2007-07-30T16:30:00.000Z

Bumblebee completed its forty thousandth auction in July 2007 with the sale of a cordless drill and accessories on behalf of Thames Valley Police see http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/XcAPViewItem.asp?ID=40000.

In the same month, the system has also expanded from selling a toy Chrysler PT Cruiser on behalf of Devon and Cornwall police back in 2004, to selling a real one to selling a real one of behalf of Sussex.

E-Directory 2

2007-06-30T10:53:00.000Z

A new design for Special Insurance Schemes Agency's E-Directory product has been implemented Coraider Services, just two months after the product - previously a CD-ROM - was moved to the web.

See http://www.sisa-edir.com/.

ABBEYFEST 2007

2007-05-28T10:00:00.000Z

For the second year in succession, Coraider Services is proud to be among the sponsors of Abbeyfest the summer festival of Music, Comedy and Theatre in South London that is now in its 10th year.

The festival - which we are backing via our Bumblebee Auctions brand - has gone all out this year to put on a great line up of free Jazz concerts, top drawer late night comedy, Slaughterville at the Watermill, A delicious season of Theatre, both open air and in The Colour House, Chamber Concerts, South London’s only Blues Festival “Blues at the Mills” and a fantastic Children’s festival, Kidsfest.

20,000 people enjoyed last years festival.

SISA E-Dir

2007-04-27T15:11:00.000Z

The Special Insurance Schemes Agency's E-Directory product previously a quarterly CD-ROM has been redeveloped by Coraider Services as a subscription based website at http://www.sisa-edir.com/.

The E-Directory organises over 3,200 special schemes designed specifically for insurance professionals.
“We frequently consult the SISA edirectory to help find markets for some of the more difficult and unusual risks."

Tim Lampard, Bridge Insurance Brokers

ARTTes

2007-03-22T12:02:00.000Z

Software like "Blogger" can provide an easy and cost-effective mechanism for small companies to market themselves and communicate with their customers and communities.

Coraider Services has set up a website for the ARTTes 4 Kids Arts and Crafts School Fine Art Gallery & Interior Design Practice that works in this way.

The 'blog presentation makes it easy to ensure that the website appears fresh as the most recent content is always feaured most prominently.
Blogger's web software enables a user to post new content from anywhere in the world with web access without having to worry about the intricacies of HTML.
The weblog's RSS feed makes it easy for customers to subscribe to be kept informed of news and promotions.

Court Confiscations

2007-02-21T17:55:00.000Z

At the independent request of a number of police force clients of Bumblebee Auctions, the system's back-office functions have been enhanced to allow it to deal with and account for items obtained by Court orders.

A Court can make a forfeiture order, or a confiscation order after conviction to deprive the defendant of the benefit that he or she has obtained from crime. A forfeiture order immediately deprives the defendant of title, whereas a confiscation order is only an order to pay a sum of money and is enforced as if it were a fine.

Art Theft

2007-01-19T20:06:00.000Z

"These are mine. I can't believe it…it's incredible. I never thought I would get them back.... Virtual bumblebee is an excellent idea."

A satisfied customer on the BBC's "Inside Out" show.

Success

2006-12-07T14:54:00.000Z

BBC South East 'Inside Out' are planning a 10 minute slot on antique crime that will be shown across the region in prime time.

PC Tom Wills of Sussex is to be filmed next week describing how Virtual Bumblebee has been successful in facilitating the return of stolen antiques throughout southern England.

A victim who found her property on the site via Operation Harwich will also be interviewed.She has also provisionally identified stolen items that have been recovered in Surrey Police's Operation Calibrate, and we hope that positive identification in person of this property will form part of the programme, illustrating the system enabling a victim from Kent to recover property seized - from Suffolk - by both Surrey and Sussex Police in an example of public-facing, pro-active, officer driven, "bottom up" inter-force cooperation.

Bumblebee Auction Growth

2006-11-02T12:14:00.000Z

In October 2006, Bumblebee Auctions served up the highest number of pages, completed the most sales and generated the most revenue of any month in its history.

Hertfordshire Police are also to be congratulated on setting a new record for income generated in a month by an individual force.

Progress should continue this month, as a new force - South Yorkshire Police - has joined the system and a new high has also been set today for the number of current running auctions.

Hampshire Constabulary Operation

2006-10-05T13:51:00.000Z

Hampshire Constabulary are using Virtual Bumblebee to support Operation Marmora, in which the Serious Organised Crime Unit at Havant is inviting burglary victims to identify stolen antiques which have been recovered.

The video clip made available by Solent TV is indicative of press coverage and the increasing public awareness of the system.

Merton Priory

2006-09-01T13:00:00.000Z

Coraider Services' offices are on the site of Merton Priory, an Augustinian priory founded in 1117 and dissolved in 1538.

The Merton Priory Trust, which was formed in 2003 to provide and support in perpetuity an education and information centre on the site, is to launch "The Merton Priory Conservation Management Plan" on 11th September 2006. This will be the official introduction of a project to establish an education and information centre located over the remains of the Priory's Chapter House.

As a gesture of support for this initiative Coraider Services is developing a 3D computer model of the Priory that will be used to enhance the presentation of the Trust's work.

Development of the model may be followed at http://mertonpriory.coraider.com/.

Bumbleee Administrator for Cambridgeshire

2006-08-01T09:25:00.000Z

Cambridgeshire Police have appointed a new member of staff to the full time post of 'Bumblebee Administrator'.

The new administrator, who started yesterday will coordinate all the force's work on Virtual Bumblebee and Bumblebee Auctions and work closely with the Tri-Counties Recovered Property Co-ordinator who manages the systems across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Lot 25000

2006-07-04T18:21:00.000Z

Bumblebee Auctions reaches an landmark today as its twenty five thousandth lot goes under the hammer.

In a separate development that illustrates the increasing internal awareness of the value of the Bumblebee project to UK police , Andrew Gallagher of Hampshire Constabulary has been honoured for his contribution in piloting the scheme for the force.

AbbeyFest

2006-06-02T12:55:00.000Z

Coraider Services is proud to be among the sponsors of AbbeyFest 2006.

Running from 7th July 2006 - 28th August 2006 this year, the festival, based in the Merton Abbey Mills heritage site where our offices are based, comprises:

- theatre, children's theatre, chamber music and comedy in the ColourHouse Theatre
- free jazz on the bandstand every Friday night
- and culminates in the Annual Abbeyfest Blues Festival over the August 25/26/27 Bank Holiday weekend.

Virtual Bumblebee Police Operations

2006-05-22T09:30:00.000Z

UK Police Forces are increasingly using Virtual Bumblebee (the UK's recovered property internet advertising system) to support specific operations.

Sussex Police - for example - have recovered what is believed to be a large quantity of stolen antiques, mainly silverware, from a lock-up in the Lewes area. Some of this property has been identified in collaboration with Wiltshire Police, police are now seeking the public's help in identifying the remaining items. Victims of crime, in particular burglary victims from Sussex and Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire are invited to look at Operation Antique's home page on Virtual Bumblebee.

Similarly, victims of crime are being given the chance to recover stolen property after Hampshire Constabulary seized a substantial amount of jewellery during investigations into a series of burglaries in the Gosport and Fareham area. The jewellery is believed to have been stolen, and detectives at Park Gate police station are now seeking help from the public to identify the items. Please visit Operation Pioche's home page on Virtual Bumblebee.

Special Insurance Schemes Agency

2006-04-04T09:26:00.000Z

Coraider Services are pleased to announce that we have taken over production and technical development of the Special Insurance Schemes Agency's E-DIRECTORY product.

Tighten Up

2006-03-02T09:17:00.000Z

Coraider Services are pleased to announce that we have taken over all the IT support functions for Tighten Up, West London's leading industrial supplier of fasteners and fixings in all materials.

Bumblebee in the National Press

2006-02-01T09:10:00.000Z

A very favourable review of Bumblebee Auctions enititled "Move over eBay - this is the police" was published in the Guardian Money section on Saturday January 28, 2006

This website disposes of property that the police have seized or has been handed in, and where the police can't locate the original owner. Stuff on sale reflects criminal tastes; lots of mountain bikes (many "as new"), Nike trainers (new, boxed), jewellery and electrical goods such as laptops and iPods.

It's run on the lines of eBay, where you bid up to a closing date. There are no minimums, so if no one else bids, the item is yours for £1.

PC Tim Wills, who handles disposals on bumblebeeauctions for Sussex Police, says it is not uncommon for bikes to go for under £5. Guardian Money tracked some of the bike auctions last week, and found many sold for £20-£30. The most sought after was a new Giant Yukon bike, which eventually went for £105. That compares with the £299 it retails for elsewhere.

Other lots listed this week included HP Laserjet printers (several at £20), mobile phones (a Siemens S55 for £1, including charger and manual), Nike Airmax Plus trainers (£5-£10, courtesy of a particularly prolific shoplifter) and assorted packs of batteries, razors and Oral-B toothbrushes from £1 upwards.

The drawback? You have to collect larger items from the police force that's offloading them. In the case of the Yukon bike above, that would have required a trip to Chichester police station in Sussex. Only 10 of the UK's 43 police forces are on the site, so large parts of the country are not covered. Smaller items listed on bumblebeeauctions (such as trainers) can be posted to you, but at a fee of around £14. You also have to sign up to the Nochex payment system.

PC Wills says: "It used to be the case that we disposed of everything through local auction houses. But we've found that we can make 10 times as much by doing it online. All the money made goes to charity. It's just beginning to build up momentum at the moment. The Metropolitan Police [not currently disposing on the site] is in the wings as are many other forces. In truth, we've got property stores which are full to overflowing."

Thames Valley Police

2006-01-03T11:00:00.000Z

Thames Valley Police - the largest non-metropolitan force in the country, covering the 2,200 square miles of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire - has become the latest organisation to join Bumblebee Auctions, the police online auction system run by Coraider Services. An RSS feed for the force's auctions is available here.

This latest development gives Bumblebee Auctions very comprehensive coverage of the South of England from the Bristol Channel to the Wash and running from Cornwall to Norfolk.

"Trap Bikes" launched in Brighton

2005-12-01T08:00:00.000Z

Yesterday, police in Brighton & Hove are launched a crime prevention campaign incorporating virtual bumblebee aimed at the city's cyclists after a recent increase in reported stolen bikes.

On average, two to three bikes are stolen every day so, in an attempt to deter thieves, police have launched "trap bikes" in the city. The bikes have been fitted with sophisticated, miniature tracking devices which, when the bike is moved, is activated allowing police to follow the trail, locate the bike and arrest the thief.

Sgt Laurence Cartwright said: "The number of bikes stolen accounts for a large amount of the thefts we see in the city. The aim of the "trap bikes" is to reduce the number of bikes being stolen across the city and to arrest those responsible."

The first day of action will also see officers and police community support officers stopping cyclists to offer crime prevention advice.

Sgt Laurence Cartwright added: "There are some very simple tips cyclists can take on board to protect their property.

"Always lock your bike when you leave it, even if you're just popping into a shop for a minute. It's better to fit a steel D-shaped shackle lock recommended by your bicylce dealer or the police rather than a padlock and chain.

"Wherever possible, you should lock your bike to something solid and in view of a CCTV camera. If your wheels come off easily, remove the front wheel and lock it to the frame and back wheel, using a second lock if necessary.

"Keep a list of the make and model of your bike along with details of the frame number, its colour and any accessories or special features. If you can, take a photograph and keep it with these details. Lock It, List It, Don't Lose It."

On Saturday 3rd December, cyclists are invited to attend Brighton Police station on John Street to have their bicycles post code stamped.

Police have also added details of recovered bicycles to the Virtual Bumblebee system. This link to the Sussex Police website, or this link to the Virtual Bumblebee website will immediately show the list of Operation COG recovered bicycles from the Brighton area.

For further information, please contact your local crime prevention officer on 0845 60 70 999.

UK Police forces sell bicycles that cannot be returned to their rightful owners on Bumblebee Auctions here.

Directgov

2005-11-16T13:29:00.000Z

Although some Police auctions of confiscated or lost property take place locally and advertising is a matter for the individual force, Bumblebee Auctions has now been recognised by DirectGov, the Government's official portal to public services, as the nationwide site for UK Police property disposal.
There is already a link to Bumblebee Auctions on the UK Police Service's site.