Using Anti Social Behaviour powers to tackle cuckooing

– a partnership approach

Cuckooing is a form of crime in which drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person, in order to use it as a base for drug dealing and other illegal activities. They can use violence and drugs to intimidate people.

Background - Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act

2014 – new Property Closure Order

Surrey Police’s ASB Team since 2014 seen in a rise in the need to use this legislation to:

To safeguard vulnerable tenants and homeowners who have been subjected to their property being taken over.

To protect the surrounding community from the associated anti-social behaviour and serious and acquisitive crime linked to this type of address

Since October 2014, Surrey Police have applied and secured 117 closure orders – first 6 months in 2019 there have been 19 orders

Surrey Police report - need to ask for partial closures, where the tenant remains, due to the property being taken over by drug dealers who are either local organised crime groups (OCG) or insurgent /County Lines OCGs.

The pilot (November 2018)

Initiated by:

Surrey Police’s Anti-Social Behaviour Manager, representatives from the

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Serious and

Organised Crime Unit, Catalyst and Alpha Extreme Services.

The aim:

To establish a specialist team to work alongside Surrey Police to

support victims of cuckooing, other drug users accessing the premises,

and where appropriate the perpetrators, if drug and alcohol users.

Pilot objectives:

Provide an immediate support system to victims of cuckooing including; visiting clients in custody, providing pay-as-you-go phones, practical help and support

Provide harm reduction and facilitate access to treatment, and recovery support for victims

Support the victim to comply with the criminal justice process

Support the Police with partial or full house closures

Engage with other drug users using the premises via texting to offer access to prescribing services and other support services

Explore engagement approaches with the perpetrators of cuckooing if linked to substance misuse.

How we got started and what we do?

Start up of £10,000 from ASB Manager

Used experienced outreach staff for 3-4 months to start pilot

Since February 2019 employed 2 part-time specialist outreach

workers (24+16 hours per week)

Promote the service and benefits e.g. Community Harm and Risk

Management Meetings (CHaRMMs)

Deliver an outreach and support service to victims, and liaise

with key community services to address a person’s needs.

Face to face contact (excluding travel time) costs on average

£342.16 (range £30 - £6382.29) per person.

What we are monitoring and evaluating: Set up a database to gather information on ‘profile’ of victims

Set up database to measure outcomes, pre and post criminal justice

data on:

SCARF reports

Missing persons

Vulnerable Adult Incidents

Arrests

Crime to property

Call outs to road

Planning to look at cost savings to Police, Courts and Housing re:

prevention of partial and full closures.

Indicators for person being vulnerable to being cuckooed (n= 65)

Indicators No of clients % of caseload

Substance misuse 52 80%

History of homelessness 50 77%

Poor or sporadic engagement with services 49 75%

Social isolation 46 71%

No communication with client 38 59%

Tenancy support needed 34 52%

Priority debts such as rent, council tax 32 49%

Closure order or ABC being considered 24 37%

Diagnosed mental health condition 24 37%

Does not meet criteria for CMHRS 23 35%

Reports from neighbours (ASB behaviour or concerns) 17 26%

Property in disrepair 17 26%

Case study 1

Female, mid 60’s, historic substance misuse.

Diagnosed mental health issues.

Socially isolated.

Befriended local homeless female, class A drug user and let her stay,

This female then introduced County Line Dealers into her property.

Threatened at knife point to deal.

Police raid led to arrest and conviction for PWITS.

Dealer not arrested and still operating in the area.

Case study 2

Female, late 40’s, no drug issues.

Considerable physical health issues, difficulty communicating.

Possible sexual exploitation.

Privately owned property in state of disrepair.

Targeted by local class A users, discarded paraphernalia.

Emergency partial closure put in place but ignored by drug users.

Care staff stopped visits due to high risk.

Open to Adult Social Care and deemed to have capacity.

Decision challenged. Multi agency meeting held.

New assessment and deemed to not have capacity. Appropriate care package

now put in place.

Key messages: Rarely do people like to think of themselves as vulnerable or

being taken advantage of and so may not admit to being

cuckooed. It is sometimes easier to broach the subject by warning

them that by continuing such activities, even if carried out by

others, as it is in their property it may lead to eviction/loss of

tenancy.

Capacity is a main question when looking at someone’s behaviour

and the choices they make. It is often seen that the client has the

capacity to make the choice, albeit an unwise one. We would

question, why are they making that choice?

Cuckooing can also be carried out by family members, local

dealers/users and not just County Lines.