10
Jul
2013
By Calvin at 09:31 GMT, 12 years ago
Back on Saturday 22nd June in Himbleton Road, Worcester between 10am and 11.30am two men knocked on a door offering to do some gardening work. One of them was taken to the back of the house while the other stayed at the front. After a short while the two men left and the owner went back into the house where he discovered his Sony Experia mobile phone had been stolen.
Both offenders were white, about 5ft 5 or 6 inches in height and were wearing long sleeved royal blue sweatshirts with a white tree logo on the back and white lettering. One was in his late 30s, of medium to stocky build with short brown hair and a goatee beard. The other man was in his late 20s, of average build with short blond hair and was clean shaven. They were driving a white flatbed lorry with a white cage on the back.
Detective Inspector Stuart Murphy from Worcester CID, said: “Distraction burglars often target people on their own or vulnerable people who need to be reminded never to let strangers inside their home whatever the reason they give.”
Witnesses or anyone with information about these men should contact Detective Inspector Murphy at Worcester Police Station on the non-emergency number 101, quoting incident 236-S-220613, or ring the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
TCPW Comment: There are thousands of these types of distraction thefts every year across the UK and this incident in Worcester is very typical. Although elderly and vulnerable people make up the vast majority of victims younger people too can get hoodwinked.
There were three warning signs leading to this incident:
First, the two suspects were cold calling. Therefore they were, by definition, at the victim’s home without an appointment and they were certainly not known to the victim. The suspects know this too and they will often be charm itself; almost over the top friendly. Some will say they admire something about the house or the garden or maybe even you, all the time trying to gain your trust. Then comes the offer to do some work at an unbelievable price or they might offer to sell you something or buy something from you.
Secondly, there were two of them. Why do two people need to knock on anybody’s door looking for work or to sell something? It would be far more efficient to split up and knock on twice as many doors, wouldn’t it?
The third warning sign is the fact that although the victim has now invited a complete stranger into his home, the second suspect has remained at the door. Now you’re in a fix. Even if you suddenly catch on to what might be their real intention you’ve now got one man walking through the kitchen towards the back garden and the other standing by the front door. Which one are you going to keep an eye on?
One thing to do is to close the front door on the second guy asking him to wait while you keep an eye on the other. But what if both suspects come into the house? You’re now out-numbered two to one in your own home and you haven’t got the first idea who these people actually are. What a pickle you’re now in!
So what should we do?
There is only one real solution to this age old problem and that is for all of us to work together and stop buying from or engaging with all cold callers, not just the elderly and vulnerable - all of us - so that we turn our streets into economic barren deserts for the cold callers. This is not to say that we can’t have deliveries from the milkman or the fishmonger and visits from bona fide traders with whom we have made appointments and for which we have prepared. No, just the cold callers.
We also need to look out for our elderly and vulnerable neighbours. We do this for the 85 year-old gentleman who lives opposite us. If we see someone at his door we go out and enquire as to their business. Genuine people don’t mind this, but people up to no good soon move on.
More use of No Cold Calling Zones. Some local authorities will consider designating an area as a ‘no cold calling zone’ when there have been lots of complaints and there are vulnerable people being targeted. See the link to find out more. This was brought about by some research conducted by the Trading Standards Institute in 2003. They surveyed the public’s attitude to cold calling at the door and found out the following facts:
- 95.7% said that they do not want doorstep sellers calling
- 0.1% welcomed doorstep sellers
- 61.5% said they had been visited at least once in the previous 12 months
- 22.6% reported being called upon 3 or more times
- 10% said they had a bad experience with doorstep sellers, but this figure rose to 26.6% for certain products and services
- Only 17% reported the matter to the authorities
- When respondents were asked if they could think of any benefit which doorstep sellers bring to you or householders in general, of those who answered the question 96.2% replied and emphatic “no”.
So isn’t it about time there was further legislation to impose considerably more strict limits on this practice?
Many police services and local authorities periodically run awareness campaigns to help reduce this ongoing crime problem and West Mercia police are no exception. Take a look at their ‘Knock Knock’ campaign.
Keep ‘em peeled
West Mercia Police ‘Knock Knock campaign: http://www.westmercia.police.uk/knock-knock/
Trading Standards Survey of 2003: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/policy/policy-reports.cfm
Bogus Callers (Distraction burglary): http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/personal-security/633/bogus-callers-distraction-burglary/
No Cold Calling Zones and Doorstep Selling: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/personal-security/697/no-cold-calling-zones-and-doorstep-selling/
