Campaign launched to raise awareness of residential and commercial cannabis cultivation dangers

We've launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers residential and commercial properties bring to communities when being used to cultivate cannabis.

It is estimated that 94% of cannabis farms are located in domestic houses. Organised criminal gangs often secure the houses through letting agents - we aim to identify these properties and disrupt their activity.

Working with the police forces of Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire to run this 8 week campaign, Crimestoppers is appealing to the public to speak up to our charity, 100% anonymously, about any house they believe may be being used to grow and sell drugs.
   
Illegal drug activity not only has a detrimental affect on local communities, but also on vulnerable individuals within society, who may be coerced, forced or exploited into carrying out illegal activities on behalf of organised crime gangs.

Do you know the key signs that a property is being used to cultivate drugs?
 

Physical indications with the property:

• A powerful distinctive sweet, sickly aroma
• Frequent visitors throughout the day and night
• Blacked out windows, or vents sealed/blocked to prevent the heat and smell of cannabis from inside the property escaping
• Chinks of bright light throughout the night
• Birds gathering on the roof, particularly in cold weather
• In winter, snow melting unusually quickly on the roof
• High levels of condensation on windows
• Noise from fans
• Large amounts of rubbish, including compost bags
• Electricity meter being tampered with/altered and new cabling, sometimes leading to street lighting.

Signs for letting agents and landlords to look for with a tenant:

• Poor or no references from a previous letting agent
• Offering to pay several months in advance
• Preference to pay rent in cash without reasonable cause
• Wanting to keep the utility bills in a landlord’s name
• Asking for complete privacy, requesting no periodic inspections or preventing the inspection of the property even when given reasonable notice
• Changing locks to keep landlords and agents away from a property.

“By running this campaign, we hope to identify premises being used for illegal criminal activity, as part of our commitment to tackling crime and keeping communities safe.

“Residential premises being used to commercially cultivate cannabis carries many risks, such as increased fire hazards, through dangerously wired and diverted electricity supplies, which are often linked to water supplies and quite sophisticated feeding systems.

“Sadly many properties, often unwittingly rented to criminals for drug cultivation, can be left completely destroyed and uninhabitable, with damp and condensation problems, carpets ripped out and walls knocked down. We encourage the public to keep their eyes open and to report any suspicious signs to our charity 100% anonymously.

“We value safe communities and in over 32 years we have always kept our promise of anonymity to everyone who contacts us. Call 0800 555 111 at any time or use our anonymous online form here on our website. We cannot trace calls or get IP addresses. Not even we will know your identity when you contact us to pass on vital information.”