- Posted in Police Blog
The streets of Halesowen are being turned into a no-go zone for bogus-callers in a joint operation between police and trading standards officers.
Neighbourhood officers in Belle Vale and Hayley Green, along with Dudley Council’s trading standards team have been offering crime prevention advice to residents living in streets that have previously been targeted by bogus-callers and rogue traders.
The first of the action days took place earlier last week (Wednesday 9 April) and saw officers check 23 people who were carrying out work on properties within the area to check that they were trading legally.
Signs are also going up in the area warning rogue traders they will be reported if they ‘cold call’ in the new No Rogue Trader Zone.
As part of the initiative leaflets were delivered advising residents to be alert to people turning up unannounced and convince them to get costly and unnecessary work carried out on their homes.
Sergeant Heather Sloan, of the Belle Vale and Hayley Green neighbourhood teams, said: “Initiatives like this are really beneficial to our elderly and vulnerable members of the community.
“Working with trading standards has enabled us to flood over 15 streets across the area offering crime prevention advice and reassurance to those who need it.”
John Millar, director of urban environment at Dudley Council, added: “We work hard as a local authority, in partnership with police, to tackle rogue traders and ensure people are protected from these criminals.
“We also have a very successful Fix A Home scheme where people can search for reputable traders to carry out work on their home, and avoid being a victim of a rogue trader. Details can be found on our website at http://www.dudley.gov.uk/ or by calling Dudley Council Plus on 0300 555 2345.”
For advice on how to beat the bogus caller visit: http://www.safer-homes.org/
