An Irish traveller believed to be behind a violent 'burglary squad' targeting wealthy homeowners has been on the run for eight months after a prison escape, the Mail can reveal. 

Serial criminal James Dooley had been locked up for a string of burglaries when he disappeared from an open prison. 

He was part of a violent traveller gang which had raided affluent homes in north London and the Home Counties by smashing their way in with sledgehammers and crowbars – sometimes when terrified residents were still inside.

Despite his background, Dooley was moved from a stricter regime midway into a six-year sentence, and duly took advantage of the more relaxed atmosphere by bolting. 

And his vanishing act coincided with a spree of 'strikingly similar' break-ins linked to a traveller gang which has targeted nearly 50 homes in north London and Hertfordshire since September.

It comes amid fears the crime is 'no longer being treated as a policing priority' by the Met.

Andy Burnham's Labour Government has also been repeatedly warned that unsuitable prisoners were being transferred to open jails to ease overcrowding.

David McKelvey, a former Met detective chief inspector who now runs private investigations company TM Eye, said the latest burglaries in London employed similar tactics to Dooley's gang.

He believes the gang is made up of Irish Travellers operating in at least three separate teams of three or four men. 

The network, which is alleged to use stolen cars with fake number plates, is said to have been targeting as many as 15 properties a day, excluding Sundays, before returning to traveller sites. 

Mr McKelvey said: 'North London is facing another extraordinary series of 50 plus burglaries and home invasions, again involving stolen cars on false plates and a strikingly similar modus operandi.

'Let me be absolutely clear, I am not saying Dooley is responsible. But surely the similarities demand investigation. 

'Imagine being one of the detectives who spent months catching this gang, only to see a convicted prolific burglar placed in an open prison and walk away.

'And if experienced offenders are involved again, they'll be wiser to police tactics and know they're facing substantial sentences if caught. Meanwhile, families across north London are living in fear in their own homes. Something is seriously wrong.'

Dooley was jailed for six years and three months at Reading Crown Court on August 10, 2025, after being found guilty of three burglaries in North Finchley, Hendon and Hampstead between November 2 and November 12, 2024. 

He also pleaded guilty to two attempted burglaries in Pinner and Iver, Buckinghamshire, on December 19, 2024.

It is not clear when Dooley was moved to an open prison, but by February this year he was being held at Category D HMP Hollesley Bay in Suffolk. He is believed to have had about two years remaining to serve in custody at that point. 

Open prisons are low-security facilities where inmates can move around freely and often leave during the day for work placements in the local area. 

Dooley and fellow Irish traveller burglar Andrew Cash were reported as missing from HMP Hollesley Bay in the early hours of February 24 this year.

Cash, 33, was part of a separate burglary gang and was serving a six and a half year sentence at the time he absconded. He was eventually arrested in London on July 9 and handed an additional six months on his sentence. 

Suffolk Police confirmed Dooley remains at large. He is described as white, 6ft 1in tall with brown hair with links to the Wood Green area of north London, the Waltham Cross area of Hertfordshire and the Slough area of Berkshire.

Last week, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed how violent 'traveller burglary squads' have been linked to 50 break-ins across London and the Home Counties from the start of September – with police accused of failing to tackle the crime spree.

Groups of balaclava-clad thugs have been smashing their way into homes in wealthy neighbourhoods before making off with hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of cash, jewellery, expensive watches and even entire safes.

Doorcam footage of one of the raids shows three masked men using crowbars to batter their way through the front door of a house in an affluent north London suburb, before stealing the keys to a £100,000 Mercedes parked on the drive.

The raids have been concentrated in high-end neighbourhoods in north London, including Hampstead and Highgate, as well as parts of Hertfordshire. TM Eye began investigating because its sister private security company patrols some of the areas.

Mr McKelvey suspects some members of the gang are among men who were convicted of burglary after his investigators passed information to police in 2022 and 2023. 

He claims at least two of them were subsequently released under Labour's early release scheme and may be among the current suspects.

Mr McKelvey said: 'This is the same modus operandi, including the use of stolen vehicles with false registration plates and masked men bashing their way into homes with sledgehammers and crowbars before very quickly exiting with high value goods before the stolen vehicles are washed down with bleach and stored for the next raids.'

The former detective said he has passed all his intelligence onto Met officers investigating the burglary spree, as well as those searching for Dooley.

However, Suffolk Police said it had exhausted all possible lines of enquiry to find him and believes he may have left the country.

A spokesman said: 'He remains unlawfully at large. All reasonable lines of enquiry have been conducted to locate Dooley. He is believed to have left the UK.'

Last year, jail chiefs blasted a Labour scheme which allows serious criminals to be transferred to open prison after serving just two weeks behind bars.

The Prison Governors' Association said the move would 'potentially place the public at greater risk'.

The Prison Service said: 'Public protection is our priority, and prisoners are only moved to lower-security conditions following a thorough risk assessment, informed by specialists in offender behaviour and psychology.

'It would be inappropriate to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.

'Transfers to open prisons are never automatic and only take place where strict criteria are met and risks can be safely managed.

'Open conditions allow eligible prisoners to prepare for release, including through employment and rebuilding family ties.'