A TOTAL of 12 police forces, led by West Mercia Constabulary, investigated Steven Leslie Bailey's crime spree.
West Mercia senior investigating officer, acting chief inspector Paul Williamson, said: "Our investigations soon led us to linking similar offences across the central England region.
"It was at this stage we decided an appeal on Crimewatch was necessary to help with our investigations. In just four hours of the programme being aired, we were given a name.
"Bailey was immediately arrested and detained in custody. It was the quickest ever result for BBC Crimewatch. Until the programme went out, we had no suspects in mind."
He added: "This investigation is, yet again, evidence of West Mercia's outstanding performance and detection skills when dealing with serious crime.
"Critical success factors in this investigation included effective leadership and co-ordination of the forces involved, use of a geographical profiler, the media and, most of all, public support."
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