20
Mar
2013
By Calvin at 10:56 GMT, 13 years ago
UK’s Crimestoppers is asking the public to “scratch and sniff” to spot signs of cannabis cultivation.
Independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers has just launched a campaign to tackle cannabis cultivation in the UK, a ‘growing’ crime which has seen a 15% increase in cannabis factories in 2011/12.
This week Crimestoppers and police forces across the country will be distributing “scratch and sniff” cards to the public to educate and inform them about the signs to spot and detect cannabis farms by recognising the specific smell of growing cannabis. The cards contain an element that replicates the smell of cannabis in its growing state.
Hotspot areas targeted in this campaign include West and South Yorkshire, London, Greater Manchester and Avon & Somerset, which have all been identified in an ACPO report as areas with the highest number of cannabis farms in the UK. With nearly 1,800 cannabis farms found, West Yorkshire ranked the highest of all areas where cannabis farms were identified by ACPO across 2010/2012. South Yorkshire ranked second across the UK with over 1,600 found; London was the fourth highest with over 1,200 cannabis cultivation properties located in the same period.
Crimestoppers recognizes that drugs crimes not only affect individual users but the safety of communities with around half of criminal groups in the UK being involved in drug trafficking and distribution.
Those of you who read this blog may recall my story on May 1 2012 concerning a house just down the road from me in which cannabis was being cultivated in the loft. I haven’t had one of these ‘scratch and sniff’ cards through my door yet, but who knows, I might get lucky!
In my own local case, because the cannabis was being grown in the large loft, the smell of the plants wouldn’t have been so noticeable and in fact it was other clues that ultimately lead to the police action to uncover the factory and arrest those concerned. So it’s good that Crimestoppers have provided a list of signs to look out for to recognise a cannabis ‘farm’, which are listed below.
- Strong and sickly sweet smell
- Cannabis growing equipment
- Constantly covered or blocked off windows
- Visitors at unsociable hours
- Strong and constant lighting day and night
- High levels of heat and condensation
- Constant buzz of ventilation
- Lots of cables
For more on this story -
BBC World News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNslokDs3vs
Crimestoppers Press Release: http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/media-centre/news-releases/2013/crimestoppers-asks-public-to-scratch-and-sniff-to-spot-signs-of-cannabis-cultivation and http://t.co/CX0neCcHGn
The idea is not new and was first used in the Netherlands over two years ago where police uncover around 6,000 cannabis farms/plantations/gardens each year.
