I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 33 Arrest
Xu Qinghe quickly registered the information and reported the incident to the police. The next step was to understand the situation in detail and conduct an investigation at the crime scene, and further confirm the facts by retrieving surveillance footage.

Checking surveillance footage serves two purposes.

First, was the phone actually stolen? Is it possible that it was just dropped accidentally, but the person who reported it believes it was stolen?

Second, if the phone was indeed stolen, did the surveillance cameras capture the suspect committing the crime?

Mobile phone location tracking is currently limited by technological capabilities and application scope, and the approval process is extremely complex, making it impossible to apply to mobile phone theft cases.

With so many people losing their phones across the country, if we could locate each lost phone, even setting aside the accuracy, the city's technical investigation department would be overwhelmed, working 24/7.

Therefore, police stations still rely on traditional criminal investigation methods to investigate mobile phone theft cases, such as checking surveillance footage and conducting door-to-door inquiries.

For the formal investigation, Zhu Yue specially arranged a police car for Han Ling.

"Take the police car, we'll bring you back later, it'll be more convenient," Han Ling said as Xu Qinghe went to get the car.

Xu Qinghe agreed: "Okay."

The three got into the car and left Wanglou Police Station, heading towards Fengshanghui.

Han Ling was driving, and Zhang Silei was sitting in the passenger seat—auxiliary police officers are not allowed to drive police cars.

"Ms. Xu, what exactly happened? How did you know your phone was lost at Fengshanghui?"

The question was asked by Zhang Silei.

He was indeed amazed when he first met Xu Qinghe, but a beauty of this caliber would never cross paths with him; their worlds were worlds apart.

Besides, he's already married and has a happy family, so he only appreciates things from a man's perspective.

If we really think about it from a male-female perspective, Han Ling actually has a better chance.

Xu Qinghe described the situation, saying that she had already left Fengshanghui when she discovered her phone was missing. Through her recollection, she remembered that after shopping at Fengshanghui, she sat outside the mall to rest for a while, and at that time a woman came up to her asking for directions.

When the woman asked for directions, she vaguely sensed a second person approaching on her left, but she didn't pay any attention to it.

Looking back now, it's very likely that two people worked together to steal the phone.

Zhang Silei understood, and after checking the surveillance footage, he knew it was clear. He then asked if they had tried making a phone call.

"I tried calling using a passerby's phone, but it was switched off," Xu Qinghe replied.

At this moment, Han Ling suddenly spoke up: "Since you borrowed the phone, why didn't you call the police immediately? Instead, you came to the police station to report the case in person."

Xu Qinghe replied, "When I borrowed the phone, we were already very close to the police station."

Han Ling did not speak again.

Upon arriving at Fashion Plaza, the two checked the security camera footage outside the mall. The footage clearly captured the area where Xu Qinghe was resting.

Xu Qinghe's suspicions were correct; it was indeed a case of two people working together to steal the phone when the other was distracted.

It's easy to steal; part of the phone is sticking out of the jeans pocket, and you can take it out with just two fingers.

Once the situation was confirmed, Han Ling called the police station to file a case. After that, they could follow the surveillance footage to gradually narrow down the suspect's activity range. If a clear close-up image was found along the way, it should be captured immediately.

The surveillance coverage of Fengshanghui is limited. The police academy taught video tracking methods: connect the dots, use the lines of the image to find the suspect bit by bit along the direction he left.

Until the suspect disappears or reaches the destination (residence).

"Let's go back first."

Han Ling drove Xu Qinghe back to Wanglou Police Station and told her to leave another contact number and go home. He said he would notify her immediately if there were any developments in the case.

Xu Qinghe didn't linger, thanked her, and left.

Han Ling reported to Zhu Yue, who, after learning of the situation, added two more investigators and instructed the four of them to use surveillance footage to quickly pinpoint the suspect's approximate location.

Once the residential location is identified, even if it's just a small area, the person can be found quickly through visits and investigations.

This is traditional criminal investigation, which tests the police officers' endurance and physical strength.

The four set off for Fengshanghui and began their investigation from the location where the suspect disappeared. The surveillance footage was mainly divided into three categories:

The police built their own network, which was the prototype of Skynet.

Social and private surveillance is arguably the most important aid to police investigations.

Traffic monitoring is generally used to investigate vehicles.

Apart from the police's self-built network which has the authority to access information, everything else requires coordination, but the process is not difficult.

After the tasks were assigned, the four set off in pairs. At this time, Han Ling asked Zhang Silei to wait, as he had to go to Fengshanghui, without giving a reason.

Zhang Silei didn't ask any more questions. He just stood at the intersection where the suspect disappeared and waited. The street ahead was mostly filled with private surveillance cameras, and he would have to contact each one individually.

Normal businesses wouldn't refuse; there's no need to cause trouble for the police.

Han Ling went to Fengshanghui and retrieved the surveillance footage again.

It wasn't today's data, but rather data from the past week; he read it very quickly.

Xu Qinghe has appeared at the same location three times, including today, so it is reasonable to suspect that she came to Fengshanghui because her phone was stolen.

Within the jurisdiction of Wanglou Police Station, the probability of theft cases in Fengshanghui is very high.

At this moment, Han Ling was basically convinced that this woman was only trying to get close to him.

Is it considered a false police report? No, since the phone really was stolen.

"How did she know that thefts were frequent at Fengshanghui? How did she know I was definitely not at the police station and hadn't responded to the call? And how could she guarantee that I would be the one in charge of the investigation? Was she just relying on luck?"

Han Ling pondered.

Perhaps it was a matter of luck, or perhaps it was because they had connections at the police station—Wanglou Police Station has over a hundred staff members.

Let's play along and see what they're really up to.

The investigation of the surveillance footage lasted for two days, and the suspect's location was eventually pinpointed to a residential area. The team used the surveillance screenshots to conduct door-to-door inquiries and investigations, confirming that the two were a couple and lived in the same residential area.

Several people staked out the location to carry out the arrest.

The two came out at six o'clock in the afternoon, chatting and laughing as they prepared to hail a taxi. Four people surrounded them from four directions, and when they got close, they suddenly accelerated and pinned the two to the spot.

"Don't move! Police!"

It's rare for the police to make arrests, and it drew the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"Do you know why we're arresting you?" the criminal investigation team officer said coldly after handcuffing and pulling you up.

The two were quite obedient and didn't dare to resist, keeping their heads down and remaining silent.

"I'm asking you! Are you mute?!"

The man then spoke up: "I...I know, I stole your phone."

The two were taken back to the police station for questioning; they had criminal records and were repeat offenders.

The case wasn't over, and the phone still hadn't been found. After questioning, they learned that the phone had already been sold, so Han Ling and Zhang Silei rushed to the phone shop where the stolen phone had been sold, without even a moment to catch their breath.

"That woman... just you wait."

Han Ling harbored resentment towards Xu Qinghe.

However, this behavior is not a waste of police resources. Those two guys would have stolen from someone else even if they hadn't stolen from Xu Qinghe. It was only a matter of time before they were caught.

If I deliberately lose my phone, my colleagues won't believe me, and they might even think I'm neurotic.

Given Han Ling's cautious nature, she wouldn't reveal Xu Qinghe's true intentions until she figured them out.

(End of this chapter)