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August 28, 2003updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

Evening News photograph enough to secure conviction

By Press Gazette

A photograph taken by Keith Jones of the Cambridge Evening News has secured the conviction of a street thief. Jones took a picture of a girl dipping her hand into the bag of a pensioner in the city.

He had seen her and a friend acting suspiciously and had followed them. That day, the newspaper had splashed on a spate of pickpocketing that was affecting city shoppers.

In court, the defendant’s lawyer argued that because the stolen purse had not been found on the girl, there was not enough evidence to convict her. However, magistrates said the evidence of the photograph was enough to find her guilty of theft. News editor John Deex said: “The chairman of the magistrates said it was Keith’s photograph that gave him the evidence needed to decide she was guilty.”

Jones appeared in court to give evidence. He told the newspaper after the trial: “I am just glad that after all that time and bother the police have got a result.”

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