LINE OF DUTY The
IT was a word many heard on BBC hit Line of Duty but didn’t understand – “cuckooing” sounds quaint but it hides horrific stories of terrified people becoming prisoners in their homes.
Organised crime gangs take over that person’s property – whether they are elderly, have learning difficulties or drug or alcohol dependency – and use their home for criminal activity. Just like with Line of Duty’s Terry Boyle.
Now a Mirror investigation has uncovered a catalogue of cases across the nation and victims of cuckooing have bravely shared their stories.
Our probe even found that the names and addresses of vulnerable people – potential cuckooing victims – are being used as a form of currency, bought and sold by criminals, often in jails.
“You will find that prisoners are selling information for drugs on the inside about a vulnerable property in their area,” says Darren Burton, head of housing consultancy services for Forbes Solicitors, who works with the police and other agencies to prevent cuckooing and help victims escape.
Cuckooing can have lasting effects on the victims – as well as having a devastating impact on the wider community.
Darren explains: “They can feel suicidal, feeling like they have nowhere to turn. We have seen examples where they are having their money and benefits taken, withholding food, threats of or actual physical violence, destroying their belongings and the properties.
“People don’t want to live there, there is a culture of silence, people don’t want to speak out, there can be a tense atmosphere particularly if people live next door or on the same landing.”
Mark – whose name we have changed for his own safety – was a victim of cuckooing in Oxford. He had fallen into drug abuse and at first thought his dealers were his friends when they wanted to come to his flat.
But he soon realised they had an ulterior motive – they wanted to deal drugs. He says:
“It soon became apparent what would happen if things didn’t go their way.”
Mark’s case worker from Oxford Council, Monica Walton, says that victims of cuckooing like Mark often don’t know where to turn for help. And that the practice isn’t always about using a property for drugs.
Cuckooing is a very serious threat, one place you are supposed to feel safe is your home
DI MARK CATNEY YORKS & HUMBER REGIONAL ORGANISED CRIME UNIT
She explains: “It is not just properties, it is people. There is a group of women that tend to go round and use older men for sexual pleasure to get money. I think the last time I went and did some visits it was connected to about 10 different addresses and these men are in their 80s.’
“These people don’t realise they are being cuckooed – and therefore their plight may go under the radar for years.”
Liz Jones, Oxford City Council’s domestic and sexual abuse coordinator, explains: “I would say at the moment there are probably about 20 or so properties in Oxford at the moment where we suspect they are being cuckooed.
“Sometimes people are cuckooing to get a bed for a number of nights. They have got vulnerabilities but they are exploiting an elderly person.”
Police organised crime units have
identified four different types. Parasitic cuckooing is taking over addresses by force and quasi cuckooing is exploitation of a person based on their vulnerability, often by drug users.
Coupling is forming a sexual relationship to take over properties. There is also local cuckooing which refers to local offenders who take over an address in the proximity of their home or their community where exploitation, violence and drug dealing can take place.
It is a practice closely linked with county lines operations where gangs travel to different parts of the country to sell drugs, often using vulnerable youngsters as mules and dealers.
There are around 1,000 different county lines operating across the country with each one making an estimated annual profit of around £800,000