Cheshire police ask for your help in fighting organised crime

Jan 5 2012 Chester Chronicle

RESIDENTS are being asked to think twice about who they are dealing with as part of a new police campaign to tackle organised crime in the county.

The Do You Know Who You’re Dealing With? campaign highlights the link between so-called petty or victimless crimes and more serious, organised crime such as armed robbery or drug dealing.

Organised crime is any crime committed specifically for profit, where those involved see crime as a business, which sets organised crime apart from other types of crime which can often be committed on the spur of the moment.

Communities are being asked to help tackle organised crime by letting the police know about those people in the community who live an extravagant life style with no obvious means to support such a lavish existence.

Detective Superintendent Geraint Jones of Cheshire police’s Crime Operations Department said: “In the past people have looked at organised crime as a kind of mythological thing, a shadowy figure in the community who nobody knows, a Mafia-type character committing the most serious types of crime.

“In reality, these are people that live in your neighbourhood, maybe next door to you – they are affecting the community, ruining people’s lives and causing anxiety through their actions. We all have our part to play in bringing them to justice.”

As part of the campaign, police are asking people to let them know if they suspect someone in the community is living a lavish lifestyle funded through crime.

Call Cheshire police on the non-emergency number 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.