A very real problem as charity tackles fakes

The charity Crimestoppers is urging people to call 0800 555 111 with information about who's making and selling fake products.

Crimestoppers has launched a national campaign today which highlights the links between fake goods and serious organised crime. As well as supporting criminals, buying fakes puts you at risk of identity theft among other dangers. Didn't realise? Well, entering your debit or credit card details into a website that deals in fakes means that you're essentially giving your card details, address and your name to criminals.

Links to serious organised crime

Many people don't realise that by buying fakes they are helping to fund criminals who are sometimes involved in other crimes including drugs and people trafficking, prostitution, weapons dealing and money laundering.

The campaign is divided into five strands:

• Fake DVDs
• Fake money
• Fake tobacco
• Fake fashion
• The harm fake products can cause

For more information about the dangers of buying fake products go to the campaign microsite:
fakesfundcrime.org

The campaign is being run with the support of the Home Office, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Bank of England, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), the Film Distributors Association (FDA) and clothing company Pentland.

Find out more about the campaign by visiting the Crimestoppers website.

Rewards on offer to beat drug dealers!

Nobody wants drugs being dealt on their doorstep. So UK crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is taking action against drug dealers in Rugeley, Staffordshire, by offering rewards to those people with information on drug dealers and other criminals in the area.

The new campaign is in response to a recent survey where locals wanted to see more action taken to rid the streets of drug dealers. It aims to inform locals that they can call the charity about criminals and crimes and remain completely anonymous. That means they'll never have to go to court or even give a statement.


The campaign involves postcards being delivered to homes in the area with the message ‘drug dealers can no longer hide in Rugeley’. Posters and leaflets are also being distributed in the town’s library and welfare office.

The other great thing is that if the information Crimestoppers receives leads to someone being charged, not even convicted in court, then the caller is entitled to a reward. The cash is paid out using a code so the person giving information is never revealed.

Good work Crimestoppers for helping  to get drug dealers behind bars!

Be rewarded for helping to stop vandalism and robbery in Aston!

Having just returned from a fantastic summer holiday back home in Spain I am now seriously lacking in funds.

Sadly though, crime doesn’t take a holiday so I am eager to get back to tackling those bad guys.

So, when I heard that Crimestoppers have launched a campaign to tackle vandalism and robbery - with the added benefit of cash rewards for actionable information - I thought that all my problems were solved in one go!

The six-week campaign has two messages:

Name that Tag – which encourages members of the public to identify graffiti in the Aston area of Birmingham and stop vandals ruining their streets.

The second part - Cashing in on thieves – uses posters with the message '30 seconds to steal, 1 minute to call Crimestoppers.’ This highlights how quickly a thief can strike but how easy it is to call Crimestoppers anonymously with information.

Both parts of the campaign highlight the reward system in place for those people who give information to the independent charity.

So, help do your bit in the fight against crime and a cash reward could be yours!

If you would like to give information anonymously about vandalism, robbery or any other crime you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or fill out our untraceable online Giving Information Form.

Crimestoppers launches summer drink driving campaign in Channel Islands

Drivers in Jersey are being reminded that drink driving is unacceptable as Crimestoppers in both Jersey and Guernsey launch a summer awareness campaign.

The awareness campaign also has the support of the States of Jersey Police and actor, Sean Arnold. I used to watch Sean in the detective series 'Bergerac' years ago playing the part of Inspector Crozier.

My friends at Jersey Crimestoppers have told me that so far this year, just over 100 drivers have been arrested on suspicion of drink driving and the figures from previous years show that the number of arrests climbs into several 100 year in, year out.

It's believed that there could be a hard core of people, who know drink driving is wrong, dangerous and illegal but are still prepared to take the risk, maybe because they think they won’t get caught. So Crimestoppers is taking action!

Watch the film: Don't let them get away with it.

Richie Woodhall supports Crimestoppers

World Champion boxer Richie Woodhall has joined forces with Crimestoppers to encourage people in Telford to support their community by passing on information to Crimestoppers anonymously.

Richie launched his Fight Crime campaign at a press conference at the Telford Ice Rink, where he won his World Championship belt.

You might remember me blogging previously about Ricky Hatton and his crime campaign in Greater Manchester. It's great that within the past few months the Crimestoppers charity has had two very talented and inspiring individuals front campaigns.

Of the new campaign, Richie said: “So many people suffer as a result of the activities of criminals. I would encourage local people to have the courage and fight crime without revealing their identity by contacting Crimestoppers.”

Taxis with Richie's face and crime message on them (just like the one on the left) are going to all around the streets of Telford. If you see one, take a photo and send it in! I'd love to see one in action.

UK criminals in Amsterdam - can you help track them down?

Today Crimestoppers announced the launch of Operation Return. It's a new campaign that aims to track down UK criminals that are thought to be on the run in the Netherlands.

I've been looking through the details of the six most wanted and there's some nasty looking people on the Operation Return list.

There's Rezgar Zengana - he posed as a taxi driver and collected a lady from an office Christmas party in Glasgow. Zengana drove her to a private dwelling and raped her. He was convicted in Glasgow but went on the run before he was sentenced.

What a vile thing to do!!

Brian Bradshaw is another of the most wanted. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to over eight years in jail. He absconded from prison while on temporary licence for a work project.

Both of these men are believed to on the run in the Netherlands.

People who commit crimes like this need to be brought to justice and you can help. Look through the appeals on Crimestoppers Most Wanted website. If you recognise any of the wanted men or have information on them, pass this onto Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or filling out our online information giving form.

None of us what people like these walking our streets so it's important we all work together to track them done.

This is abuse - teen domestic violence isn't ok

I was pleased to hear about a new campaign that has been launched to try and wipe out domestic violence amongst teenagers. Being a grandmother to six, I hear my fair share of tales about boyfriends, girlfriends and young love. One thing you never want to hear is that young people are taking each other for granted and not being respectful of one another.

A series of TV ads and a short film have been produced as part of the government's This is abuse campaign. The ads show young people in a variety of settings and explains some aspects of abusive behaviour.

If you're a young person or are close to someone that is, make sure you have a look at the This is abuse YouTube channel. If you suspect that someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you might find information about Crimestoppers' domestic violence campaign helpful.

Take it from me, your younger years are for having fun so make the most of them while you can!

Most wanted distraction burglars arrested

Granny Robyn told us the other week all about the new distraction burglary campaign Crimestoppers is running. A list of ten Most Wanted distraction burglars was announced and already two of the top ten have been arrested.

A third known distraction burglar (who was not on the top ten list) arrested by police was found to have a copy of The Sun's top ten distraction burglars article in his pocket! Good to see distraction burglars are realising that we won't put up with their vile actions.

While the recent arrests are great news, we still have work to do as eight of the top ten are still at large. Make sure you check out Crimestoppers' Most Wanted website so you can see if you know where any of these door step criminals are.