§ Mr. RichardsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to alert the elderly to the dangers of allowing into their homes thieves posing as officials or trades people.
§ Mr. JackIndividual police forces continue to develop crime prevention initiatives to reflect the needs of their areas, including measures to combat the risks posed by bogus callers. Several forces are known to have launched recent initiatives in this area working with local utility companies or crime prevention panels. For example, in November 1990 the Metropolitan police set up a dedicated unit operating in selected areas under the title of Operation Worker specifically to detect bogus callers. So far, more than 3,000 of these crimes have been cleared up throughout the areas covered by the project, representing a 58 per cent. clear-up rate for these offences.
The Home Office publication "Practical Ways to Crack Crime" and the poster and leaflet "Be Safe Be Sure" contain advice on dealing with callers at the door and have been widely distributed. Supplies are available free of charge to members of the public or, in support of local campaigns, to police forces and other agencies. The Association of British Insurers has also produced a helpful leaflet "The Knock Code" giving similar advice which has been distributed through the insurance industry and citizens advice bureaux. More than 2 million copies of the leaflet have been distributed so far.
Organisations such as Help the Aged and Age Concern through their local offices and often working in conjunction with the police and other organisations such as victim support groups, also provide practical help and advice. For example, Help the Aged ran a campaign in 1990 called "Who's There?" specifically to address the 206W problem of bogus callers. It produced publicity material including videos for use by its local offices, which in turn arranged seminars and publicity campaigns. This material is still being used. Age Concern, through its nationwide network of 1,000 groups, has provided "security cards" with advice and local contact points, for distribution to the vulnerable.