Weekly Policing Update – Fenstanton District
Good Afternoon, Fenstanton District Members –
Here is our weekly summary of offences and incidents affecting your community, reported to police during the period 1st to 7th September:
Chequer Street, Fenstanton – Officers on routine patrol in Fenstanton on Tuesday evening, 1st September, noticed a strong smell of cannabis when they encountered a group of three youths in a children’s play area at Chequer Street. Searches revealed that the suspects were in possession of small quantities of a green herbal substance together with other drugs paraphernalia. The suspicious items were seized and investigations are continuing. (Refs 35/59505/20, 5/59537/20 and 35/59556/20)
Chequer Street – Police received a call from a resident of Chequer Street on Thursday lunchtime, 3rd September, saying that a ‘Nottingham Knocker’ had called at their house trying to sell household items. The resident had declined to buy anything and the cold-caller had left, but had not been happy to be turned away.
‘Nottingham Knockers’ are cold-callers who often claim to be ex-offenders on a rehabilitation scheme, and to be selling the goods to make a new start in life. However, there is no such legitimate scheme and the cold-callers may be part of a criminal operation. Police advice is never to encourage cold-callers by buying any of their items. (Ref CC-03092020-0208)
And Finally – More About ‘Nottingham Knockers’:
Police have received several reports of ‘Nottingham Knockers’ calling at houses in St Ives, Fenstanton, Houghton and Hilton this week.
What Are ‘Nottingham Knockers’?
They are door-to-door traders who try to sell goods on the doorstep, often low-quality household items. They will often claim to be on a rehabilitation scheme trying to find work and may have a false trading permit or some other kind of official-looking identification.
However, they are not part of any legitimate rehabilitation scheme. There is a Government-backed ‘Community Payback’ scheme for offenders who have been sentenced to carry out community work, but this does not involve door-to-door sales.
The Problem with ‘Nottingham Knockers’
They are con-men who will cover a number of streets looking for a vulnerable victim who they can scam. Police say that streets that have been targeted by them often see an increase in distraction burglaries. The con-men themselves often have long criminal histories and people who give them money may find themselves the target of other scams involving rogue-traders and other criminal groups.
There is more information and advice on the Cambridgeshire Police website at:
https://www.cambs.police.uk/A-Z/Cold-callers
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To see details of Policing Summaries for neighbouring areas, please click on the following link and scroll down the page to select areas of interest:
https://www.ecops.org.uk/alert_archive
Please be aware that these reports do not contain all details of all reported crime. We do not publish details of domestic related offences or anything which may put a person at risk if information regarding the crime was made public.
As always, if you have information relating to any offence, or are concerned about any suspicious activities, please contact police by using any of these methods:
• the ‘101’ non-emergency telephone number;
• the on-line web-chat tool on the new Cambridgeshire Constabulary web-site – click on the green icon;
• Alternatively, you can use ‘Crimestoppers’ to make a report anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or by using their on-line contact form.
In an emergency, or if you witness a crime in progress, always use ‘999’.
Best Wishes,
Chris Shaw, PSV
St Ives Police Station