‘Cuckooing’ homes could become illegal

“CUCKOOING” could become a new criminal offence in plans under discussion by the Home Office.

A total of 48 MPS have backed a proposal that would make the act of occupying or exercising control over a person’s home in connection with criminal activity illegal for the first time.

The practice, known as “cuckooing”, is most commonly perpetrated by county lines gangs who often occupy a vulnerable person’s home to store or distribute drugs. The problem has been highlighted in such popular television dramas as Line of Duty and Happy Valley – but is in itself not a criminal offence.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has put forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would make “cuckooing” punishable by up to seven years in prison. The former Tory leader has met with Home Office officials to discuss the proposals, which have the backing of 40 Tory MPS including Suella Braverman.

Police visited more than 1,200 “cuckooed” addresses in one week last month, as part of a national “country lines intensification week”. Civil and criminal tools are available to police and local authorities to disrupt “cuckooing”, and perpetrators can be prosecuted for crimes committed in a property.

But backers of the amendment, including Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, believe that using a vulnerable person’s property as a base for such activities itself needs to become a recognised crime. He warned that “cuckooing” victims, including people with mental health issues and the elderly, currently risk facing criminal sanctions themselves.

The Home Office said: “We will consider the amendment and engage with parliamentary colleagues.”