Closure of another premises causing antisocial behaviour

On Friday 5th December St Pancras & Somers Town team along with members of Camden Council attended court to apply closure order on a property in Plender Street, which was identified as causing significant anti social behaviour.  The address was being “cuckooed” by a gang who were using the premises to sell and take drugs - this order was granted by the judge and the address is now closed. 

In “Cuckooing”, professional criminals target the homes of adults with care and support needs, to use their property for drug dealing. Victims are often lonely, isolated, and frequently drug users themselves. Dealers approach the victim offering free drugs in exchange for use of the home for dealing. 

In this way, criminals operate from a discreet property, out of sight. They can use the premises to deal and manufacture drugs. The inhabitants can feel afraid to go to police for fear of being suspected of involvement or identified as a gang member. 

If you feel you are living in or near a property being used to deal drugs, or if you are concerned about your property as a landlord or property manager, below are some signs to look out for:

Closure orders are a great way for police to disrupt criminal activity, but they are most benefit to the community as it means that these addresses can be closed for a period of three months, whilst the landlord applies to take possession of the property, which will mean the criminals are forced out, and the anti social behaviour around that location stops. 

We are working hard to safeguard and protect victims, as well as other residents by stopping the anti-social and criminal activity occurring. We are dedicated to making sure that our community feels safer and we will do whatever we can to help make this happen, and we can only do this by members of the community working together with the team - so please contact us if you think that this is happening in any address. 

How to report crime: 

If a crime is taking place now then call 999 for an emergency or 101 for a non-emergency. 

You can also report crime on the Met Police website www.met.police.co.uk

If you want to contact the team you do so  by messaging on Met Engage 

You can also contact us via our email sntek-st.pancras&somerstown@met.police.uk … Be aware that this inbox is not monitored 24/7 and an officer will respond when the team is next on duty. 

We rely on information from members of the public – if you have any information regarding criminal activity then please do not hesitate to contact us. This can be given anonymously to us or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

Giving information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)

Working together with Camden Council