Cuckooing: using people's homes for crime
‘Cuckooing’ is when criminals target a vulnerable person to use their home for crime. This can include drug dealing, storing illegal goods or human trafficking. The name comes from the cuckoo which invades other bird’s nests.
Dealers may offer ‘free’ drugs to use the home for dealing. They then force the person to deal for them to ‘re-pay’ their drug debts.
Cuckooing is hard for the police to detect. The gang may only use the home for a short time.
How to spot cuckooing
Signs of cuckooing may include:
- An increase in people entering and leaving the address.
- People coming and going at strange times.
- More cars or bikes outside.
- Unknown people pressing buzzers to gain access to a building.
- You have not seen the person who lives there lately or when you do, they seem anxious.
- Relationships with controlling people.
- People with large amounts of money or several mobiles.
How to report cuckooing
If you suspect a property is used for crime, contact the police:
- Phone: 101 (or 999 in an emergency)
- Report a crime online | Sussex Police
If you do not wish to give your name then you can call the charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.
Posters
Sussex Police have created posters you can print and display to raise awareness of cuckooing:
A3 Cuckooing: Spot the signs poster 1 (Print only) [1.5 MB] [pdf]
A3 Cuckooing: Spot the signs poster 2 (Print only) [1.5 MB] [pdf]
