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04/06/2009
Police Issue Cannabis Farm Warning
Property owners, letting agents and housing associations will be warned to be on their guard against criminals that rent residential property to use as cannabis farms and drug factories at a seminar organised by police next week.
The awareness-raising event will take place on the morning of Thursday 11 June at the City of Manchester Stadium and cover the destructive impact that this crime can have on property and the damage it can do to local communities.
The event has been organised by Greater Manchester Police's Scorpion priority group that has been set up to fight drug crime and takes place during a national week of action against drug crime. There will be presentations by police officers, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and the Co-op Insurance Company.
Landlords and letting agents will be shown how to recognise the tell-tale signs that their property is being targeted by drug gangs and get advice on what to do in that situation.
Video footage and photographs of cannabis farms and drug factories that have been shut down will be shown. Criminal gangs often remove internal walls and floors to maximise the space they have to grow cannabis and install watering and lighting systems that are dangerous and pose fire and electrocution risks.
They also install crude venting systems through external walls and roofs and store vast quantities of soil, compost and chemicals within and at the rear of properties.
All these structural changes can leave the building in an unsafe condition, may cause it to be condemned or at very least leave the landlord with a huge repair bill.
Most insurance companies are unlikely to pay out on buildings or contents policies in these situations.
Dozens of landlords and letting agents have already signed up to the seminar but organisers are keen to attract more to raise awareness of this devastating crime.
(JM/BMcC)
The awareness-raising event will take place on the morning of Thursday 11 June at the City of Manchester Stadium and cover the destructive impact that this crime can have on property and the damage it can do to local communities.
The event has been organised by Greater Manchester Police's Scorpion priority group that has been set up to fight drug crime and takes place during a national week of action against drug crime. There will be presentations by police officers, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and the Co-op Insurance Company.
Landlords and letting agents will be shown how to recognise the tell-tale signs that their property is being targeted by drug gangs and get advice on what to do in that situation.
Video footage and photographs of cannabis farms and drug factories that have been shut down will be shown. Criminal gangs often remove internal walls and floors to maximise the space they have to grow cannabis and install watering and lighting systems that are dangerous and pose fire and electrocution risks.
They also install crude venting systems through external walls and roofs and store vast quantities of soil, compost and chemicals within and at the rear of properties.
All these structural changes can leave the building in an unsafe condition, may cause it to be condemned or at very least leave the landlord with a huge repair bill.
Most insurance companies are unlikely to pay out on buildings or contents policies in these situations.
Dozens of landlords and letting agents have already signed up to the seminar but organisers are keen to attract more to raise awareness of this devastating crime.
(JM/BMcC)
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Ecstasy in decline but drug use is 'stable'
Class A drug use overall has remained the same but ecstasy use has fallen by a fifth, according to Home Office figures published today. Figures for 2002/03 show that class A drug use among young people has been "broadly stable" since 1996 with recent falls in some individual drugs, such as ecstasy which has fallen for the first time.
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