Protecting residents
from Doorstep
Crime
An evaluation of the
Surrey County Council
Trading Standards Service
‘Stop Cold Callers’ initiative
David Bullen – April 2013
[email protected]
Executive summary
1
Executive Summary
This evaluation report reviews the progress made with our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ initiative which was
introduced in Autumn 2011. The initiative was designed to help Surrey residents deal with the
activities of unwanted cold calling doorstep traders. The cornerstone of this initiative is a new
warning sticker that exploits the wording of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading
Regulations 2008. This report looks at the reasons for its introduction, the key successes and
milestones so far, the results of our customer survey work undertaken in September 2012 and
suggestions for developing this initiative further.
There has been overwhelming support for this initiative from Surrey residents, our key partners and
sections of the national media and it is now being used as a model of good practice by several other
Trading Standards Services and the Trading Standards Institute.
Key Milestones and successes
 Over 100,000 sticker packs have been made available to Surrey residents
 As of 31st January 2013, 1211 residents had registered their sticker packs with us
 Many Trading Standards departments around the UK have shown an interest in adopting this
initiative and at least 2 authorities have already implemented it with more to follow
 Our stickers were adopted by the Trading Standards Institute for National Consumer Week
in October 2012
 The Daily Mirror have published our sticker in the newspaper and on their website and
Money Saving Expert also published a version of our sticker on their website
 This initiative achieved recognition by being awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the prestigious
Municipal Journal Local Government Achievement Awards in 2012
 This initiative has developed further our partnership working with other Surrey County
Council Departments, Surrey Police and the 11 Boroughs and Districts within Surrey
Key survey results from 851 returns
 90% of householders say they have seen a reduction in the number of cold calling doorstep
traders since displaying our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ door sticker
 51% of householders say they feel safer in their home since displaying our sticker
 76% of householders say they feel more confident in dealing with doorstep traders since we
launched this initiative
 The initiative has reached our primary target of elderly householders with 51% of
respondents to the survey being aged 60 years or more
2
Introduction
Cold calling doorstep traders cause harm, distress and financial detriment to many people,
particularly those that are vulnerable due to their age or physical and mental condition. At Surrey
Trading Standards Service, we have a team of officers whose job it is to protect Surrey residents and
take action against offenders in accordance with our enforcement policy. Since 2003, we have made
direct savings for Surrey residents of over £1.25 million - money that would otherwise be lining the
pockets of rogue traders - and we have secured convictions against many offenders. Indirect but
unquantifiable savings of many more millions have been made through our work to empower
residents to say “no” to cold calling doorstep traders.
Surrey Trading Standards Service are committed to protecting residents, particularly the elderly and
vulnerable, from being taken advantage of by rogue traders and also from feeling pressurised on
their doorsteps to make decisions that they may not otherwise make. A large part of our work is
focused on prevention and this initiative is central to this.
In October 2011 we launched a major new initiative to deter unwanted cold calling doorstep traders
and empower residents to have the confidence to shut the door on them – the ‘Stop Cold Callers’
initiative. The long term aim is that this will take over from our existing No Cold Calling Zones
(NCCZs) but these will continue to be supported for the time being.
Background
Prior to launching our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ initiative we used NCCZs to deter cold calling doorstep
traders. NCCZs are defined residential areas where road signs and door stickers are displayed
indicating that cold callers are not welcome. In Surrey, approximately 10% of the 455,000
households in the county are covered by NCCZs and these have been developed since 2003. As
evidenced by our regular evaluations, the zones have helped to reduce the fear of doorstep crime
and have also had a positive impact in reducing incidents of distraction burglary. Residents have told
us that the zones have helped to reduce cold calls on the doorstep and helped to make them feel
safer in their homes.
NCCZs provided huge benefits to residents living within them but they are not without problems:
 Zones are expensive and labour intensive to establish and maintain
 Zones can only be set up in areas where we can demonstrate a necessity based on crime
statistics and householder demographics
 We had to reject many requests for NCCZs and try instead to provide alternative solutions to
those residents where the necessity could not be demonstrated
 Signing zones is difficult and it is not always clear to traders which streets are in a zone and
which are not
 A significant number of residents in zones do not display their door sticker which
undermines the objectives
 It is sometimes argued that NCCZs are imposed on residents with no opt out available
 A number of major businesses have had a policy of ignoring NCCZs because they challenge
the contention that every householder living there wants to be included.
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Over the years, a range of different door stickers have been created for use within Surrey – some
have been produced by Surrey Trading Standards Service and some by Surrey Police. NCCZs have
been established around the country using inconsistent sets of criteria and employing a variety of
road signage and door stickers, all of which can cause confusion to businesses operating across a
number of local authorities. This makes it difficult for Trading Standards and the Police to argue
effectively for stickers and signs to be respected.
The new approach
The aim of our new initiative was to come up with a fresh approach for Surrey that overcame the
problems identified and hopefully, in doing so, provide a model that could be used countrywide,
eradicating the range of signage that is used and the inconsistent approaches. In doing this we
hoped to create a model that could be put forward to business as something that they could agree
to support.
From the outset it was important to us that we did more than just produce a new sticker - it was
recognised that residents’ awareness of the issues needed raising and that residents’ awareness
levels needed to be maintained long term. It was also important that our new approach gave choice
to residents and gave them the tools needed to say no to cold calling doorstep traders without us
actually doing it for them. This was seen as fairer to businesses and
harder for them to challenge. We also wanted to ensure we had a
means for reviewing the effectiveness of the initiative and had a
means of tracking businesses which ignore the stickers.
We produced a robustly worded sticker for residents which states
that failing to leave is a criminal offence. This is based on new
legislation that came into force in 2008 that creates a specific
criminal offence for ignoring a householder request to leave (their
home) and not return1. While not yet tested in court, it is possible
that a trader who ignores an appropriately worded door sticker, that makes it clear
the resident does not want to be contacted by cold calling doorstep traders, could
potentially commit a criminal offence. Any potential enforcement action would only
be contemplated where there were aggravating factors. We also produced a sticker
for residents to display on the inside of the door reminding them not to deal with cold
calling doorstep traders and including contact details for Surrey Trading Standards
Service and Surrey Police. The stickers are provided in an
attractive leaflet that explains the initiative and directs residents
to further sources of advice. Within the leaflet we also included a
flyer promoting our approved trader scheme – ‘Buy With
Confidence’. A copy of our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ leaflet can be seen
at Appendix 10
1
Paragraph 25 Schedule 1 of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
4
To enable us to try and monitor the distribution of our sticker packs, we ask residents to register
their sticker with us online and we give them the opportunity to sign up for a quarterly e-newsletter,
called ‘Safe and Secure’, at the same time. The newsletters offer a means of maintaining resident’s
awareness and hopefully ensure the message of this initiative is kept at the forefront of resident’s
minds. An example of a newsletter can be seen at Appendix 8. The initiative is backed up by
dedicated web pages with sections for businesses and consumers:
www.surreycc.gov.uk/stopcoldcallers. On our website, residents are able to download a template
letter to send to traders who ignore their sticker, there are pages with frequently asked questions,
there is advice on finding reputable traders and there are links to the Surrey Police website for crime
prevention advice. For businesses, we include guidance for doorstep sellers and information about
our ‘Buy With Confidence’ approved trader scheme.
We worked closely with Surrey Police when establishing this initiative. Surrey Police are a key
partner in our work to tackle cold calling doorstep traders and it was important to gain their support
and assistance. Surrey Police Crime Reduction Officers were consulted on the design of our stickers
and the content of the packs and Surrey Police agreed to solely use our packs when handing out
door stickers and to dispose of their old stocks of different stickers. Surrey Police provided initial
financial support to assist with printing costs and have distributed numerous packs around the
county. They have also helped to publicise this initiative and provide articles for inclusion in our
‘Safe and Secure’ newsletters.
Costs
From the outset, we have been determined to drive this initiative forward and we have been
determined that it should be an improvement on the previous NCCZ work.
We launched our very first NCCZ in Guildford in 2005 and our final zone was launched in
Leatherhead in 2010. Across Surrey, we have a total of around 45,000 homes that are covered by a
NCCZ. We did not keep records of officer time spent on developing and supporting the NCCZs and
we did not keep records of the costs involved in producing the metal lamp post signs, resident packs
and old style stickers. It is therefore impossible to state with any certainty exactly how much it has
cost to set up and maintain the current zones. Anecdotally however, officer time spent has been
conservatively estimated to be 1 day per week since 2005.
There has been a labour intensive period of around three months for one officer to set up our ‘Stop
Cold Callers’ initiative but now it is established, there is very little time involved in maintaining it.
There are no time consuming individual NCCZ evaluation reports to be produced and our distribution
channels for the sticker packs through partner agencies are now well established. Since launching
this new initiative in October 2011, we have already distributed approximately 100,000 sticker packs
in around 16 months. The cost of the packs varies depending on how many are produced at one
time but, as an indication, our last reprint cost £10,000 to produce 60,000 packs.
Trying to accurately cost this initiative is impossible and to attempt to do so would be meaningless.
However, the feedback demonstrated in this report from Surrey residents, Surrey partners and from
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the Trading Standards and Police community across the whole of the UK has been far better than we
could have ever expected.
Overview of how the ‘Stop Cold callers’ initiative has progressed in the past year
Since October 2011 we have distributed over 100,000 sticker packs and as of February 2013, 1211
people had registered a door sticker with us. At this time, 75% of these people had also signed up
for our quarterly newsletters. The map on the next page shows where stickers are displayed and the
ages of the residents.
6
Figure 1 Map showing location of registered stickers and resident age (for a larger version of this map visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/stopcoldcallers)
7
Our sticker packs have been distributed by nearly 300 partners, including representatives from
Borough and District Councils, Surrey Police, Neighbourhood Watch, libraries, the Citizens Advice
Bureau, housing associations, local Councillors and charities and organisations representing older
and disabled people.
This initiative is becoming a model of best practice that is being adopted and copied across the
country. Interest has been received from other Trading Standards Services very quickly and some,
including Redbridge and Coventry, have already adopted it.
Our best practice has also been shared with Police Officers across the UK and we made a
presentation at the Operation Liberal2 national conference in Newcastle on
6 November 2012. As a result, a number of enquiries have been received
from Police forces, including Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire, and
further Trading Standards Services who were also present are keen to learn
from our work.
In May 2012 the Daily Mirror published a version of our sticker in their
newspaper and also provided a downloadable version on their website. This
sticker still fronts their ‘Stop Cold Callers Campaign’ http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/tag/coldcallers (see appendix 6).
Money Saving Expert, fronted by consumer champion Martin Lewis, also
picked up on our initiative in May 2012 and they have created a version of
our sticker that can be downloaded from www.moneysavingexpert.com. As of
9th October 2012 this sticker had been downloaded from their website over
140,000 times (see Appendix 6).
The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) adopted our sticker to promote during
National Consumer Week which ran from 12th to 16th November 2012 (see
Appendix 6). The theme for the week was ‘Cold Calling - Don’t Buy It’ and our
initiative and stickers were at the heart of the message. TSI featured an elderly
Surrey couple who had been conned out of £5000 by cold calling doorstep traders to help promote
their message and you can see a video of them speaking at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f31jlbiAx
5s.
TSI are now marketing their version of our door stickers to all Trading
Standards Services throughout the UK. However, at the moment TSI are
marketing the ‘Stop Cold Callers’ sticker alone and we want to encourage
them to promote the whole package with the leaflet, internal door sticker
and website included.
2
Operation Liberal is a unit set up to provide a national overview of doorstep crime;
supporting national investigations and sharing intelligence. The unit is managed by
Leicestershire Police and has close links with Police forces and Trading Standards teams
throughout the country
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In June 2012, Surrey Trading Standards Service were awarded ‘Highly
Commended’ in the Public Protection category of the Municipal Journal
Local Government Achievement Awards for our work on this initiative (see
our submission at Appendix 4).
Our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ Sticker Pack was also awarded ‘Highly Commended’
in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Local Public Services Award
for leaflet design.
A lot of work has been carried out more recently to get businesses to respect door stickers and
Surrey has been at the forefront of this. All contractors signed up to the Government’s Green Deal
initiative are required under the Green Deal Code of Practice to respect door stickers. TrustMark,
the government endorsed trade approval scheme, is looking to amend its core criteria which will
require member companies to agree to respect door stickers. The Trading Standards Institute, who
recently took over the running of the Office of Fair Trading Approved Codes scheme, is also
consulting on a requirement for members to respect door stickers in the future. Most recently the
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report of January 2013 on the energy conservation sector has reiterated
the advice that door stickers must be respected.
Enforcement Strategies
We have a robust enforcement policy to intervene against cold calling doorstep traders who commit
criminal offences. Where it is not possible to take formal action, we ensure we share intelligence
with other Trading Standards Services and Police Forces so that the activities of persistent offenders
can be tracked across local authority and Police boundaries.
Whilst it is our view that a trader who ignores our door sticker commits a criminal offence, it is
simply not possible for us to take action against every cold calling doorstep trader who does ignore a
sticker. We do, however, build up evidence of the worst offenders so that we can target our
resources at tackling them. This will often, in the first instance, be by trying to enter into a dialogue
with the business concerned to seek their compliance in the future. By using the template letter on
our website to send to traders that ignore our door stickers, residents are helping to enforce our
message and by copying the letter to us residents are helping us to build up intelligence of any
traders who may be routinely ignoring stickers.
We can only take action against cold calling doorstep traders when we are made aware of their
activities and therefore we rely on residents and partners reporting all incidents to us. When we are
aware of traders who are breaking the law, we can get some really good results. See the results of
some of our case studies at Appendix 7.
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Methodology applied to the evaluation
This evaluation was conducted by means of a survey on the Survey Monkey website. The survey was
written in a manner that offered any interested person the opportunity to respond. Questions were
specifically grouped for Surrey residents with a sticker pack, questions for Surrey residents without a
sticker pack and questions for partner organisations. A link to the survey was sent out to all Surrey
residents who had registered their door sticker with us, all people who subscribe to receive our alert
messages via email, and to a range of partner organisations. A link to the survey was also placed on
the Surrey County Council website, the Surrey Trading Standards Facebook and Twitter pages and
the internal Surrey County Council intranet (SNet). The survey was available for people to respond
to from 17th September 2012 until 5th October 2012. In total, 851 people responded to the
evaluation.
Alongside the results of the survey we have examined the uptake of the stickers, where they are
being displayed and by whom. We have also considered the use of our template letters and some
comments received outside of the survey process.
Survey results
We received 851 responses to our online survey. The vast majority of responses were from
residents (813) while 38 responses were received from people representing partner organisations. It
was interesting to note that 50% of all responses were from people aged 60+ and that there was a
fairly even split between the number of people responding who had a sticker pack (57%) and those
that did not (43%).
It was encouraging to see that 99% of those people who responded to say they had got a sticker
pack were displaying their sticker. This is an improvement on previous NCCZ evaluations where we
often found that, on average, only around 70% of respondents in a zone were displaying their
sticker. We worked hard to ensure that the distribution of sticker packs was targeted and that, as
far as possible, residents were encouraged to choose to opt in rather than receiving a sticker pack
that might end up in the bin.
Respondents were asked if they had bought goods or services from a doorstep trader within the last
12 months and only a small percentage of respondents had. This is not surprising as you would
expect that the sort of people who might take time to respond to our survey would be those who
were already less likely to deal with cold calling doorstep traders. There is evidence that people with
a sticker are less likely to deal with cold calling doorstep traders. Only 3.5% of respondents
displaying a sticker bought from a cold calling doorstep trader within the past year compared with
8.5% who don’t have a sticker. This is further supported by the fact that 60% of people without a
sticker said having a sticker on their door would make them less likely to buy from cold calling
doorstep traders.
On a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree respondents were asked the following questions:
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Since receiving the pack and displaying the sticker, what effect has this had in relation to the
following?
Strongly
agree
10.4%
40.8%
No
difference
48%
Are you more confident in dealing
with doorstep traders?
26.4%
49.2%
Are you more aware of how to get
support and advice?
24.7%
57.9%
Answer Options
Do you feel safer in your home?
Agree
0.27%
Strongly
disagree
0.53%
23.1%
1.1%
0.3%
15.2%
2.2%
0%
disagree
Interestingly, when respondents without stickers were asked how effective they thought a sticker
pack would be in respect of the same points, the results were broadly similar:
If you had a sticker pack, how effective do you think it would be in making you feel...
Answer Options
Safer in your own home
More confident in
dealing with doorstep
traders
More aware of getting
advice and support with
regards cold calling
Very
effective
13.3%
36.3%
No
difference
35.6%
Only slightly
effective
10.4%
Not effective at
all
4.4%
21.9%
43.3%
24.4%
7%
3.3%
23.3%
54.4%
15.2%
4.4%
2.6%
Effective
When asking partner organisations about how they believed their customers and residents would
respond to the same questions the results were as follows:
How do you rate the Stop Cold Calling Sticker Packs? Do you think it makes residents feel....
Strongly
agree
Agree
No
difference
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
Safer in their own home
26.3%
73.7%
0%
0%
0%
More confident when dealing with
doorstep traders
31.6%
68.4%
0%
0%
0%
More aware of how to get advice
and support
36.9%
63.2%
0%
0%
0%
Answer Options
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This data clearly demonstrates that our partner organisations have great belief and faith in the ‘Stop
Cold Caller’ initiative.
We asked respondents to rate our ‘Stop Cold Caller’ web pages and newsletter and the responses
were as follows:
Please rate our Stop Cold Caller webpages and our Safe & Secure newsletters. To be taken to our
website so you can find out more information please click here
Answer Options
Great!
OK
Web Pages
24.3%
45.8%
Neither
like nor
dislike
6.7%
20.9%
44.8%
7.6%
Newsletter
Not very
useful
Dislike
0.3%
0%
Not
looked
at
22.9%
0%
0%
26.7%
When looking at free text comments that respondents made about this initiative, some clear
patterns emerged. Many people commented that the yellow on the stickers fades very quickly. We
have already addressed this in our latest print run and we hope that the colour will now be more
resilient. We have now added an optional external sticker to our packs that can be stuck on the
inside of a clear glass panel which should also assist with the prevention of fading. A lot of
respondents said they would like a means of stopping unsolicited telephone calls and junk mail. We
have addressed this by including an article giving advice on this topic in our last ‘Safe and Secure’
newsletter. Some respondents raised concerns about the wording of the stickers suggesting it to be
a little rude or aggressive. Overall the comments were positive, with very few negative comments.
A number of people did suggest they would like road signs or to be included in a NCCZ. These
comments broadly mirror other comments we have received at other points during the year outside
of the formal evaluation.
What stands out most from these results is the fact that 51% of respondents who are displaying our
stickers say they feel safer in their home as a result and 76% of the respondents say that they feel
more confident in dealing with doorstep traders.
The full summary of survey results can be seen at Appendix 1 and comments received from
respondents can be seen at Appendix 2.
Results from other sources of evaluation
We have looked to compare the locations for complaints received by us about cold calling doorstep
traders with the locations of registered door stickers to see if any correlation can be drawn. The
map on the next page shows the locations of all registered door stickers (pink flag) against the
locations of all doorstep reported incidents (black house logo) from September 2011 to August 2012.
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Figure 2 Map comparing locations of registered Stop Cold Caller Stickers with recorded complaints about cold calling doorstep traders. To see a larger version of the map please visit
www.surreycc.gov.uk/stopcoldcallers
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What can be seen is that there is no obvious correlation that can be drawn between the location of
door stickers and doorstep incidents. However, it can be seen that there are very few door stickers
recorded in Godalming but a high number of reported incidents. As a result we will be attempting to
get more door stickers on display in Godalming by increasing availability in this area and looking to
increase awareness.
We have looked at the number of hits being received on the ‘Stop Cold Callers’ pages of our website
between January and November 2012 (see Appendix 3) and the main page, ’Information for
residents about our no cold calling sticker scheme’ had been viewed 2676 times. Other pages that
appear popular are: ‘How do I get a sticker’ (1447 views), ‘Register your sticker and sign up for our
newsletter’ (562 views) and ‘What is the law on cold calling?’ (303) views. The web page containing
our downloadable template letter to send to traders that ignore the door stickers had been viewed
156 times but we only had 11 template letters copied into us between October 2011 and November
2012.
It is not just our findings alone that can be used to ascertain peoples’ attitudes to cold calling
doorstep traders. In 2002 a survey found that 95.7% of people said they do not want cold callers
calling (Trading Standards institute, 2003). More recently in May 2011, Consumer Focus conducted
a survey to ascertain consumers’ views on doorstep sales. The survey, which had a particular focus
on the energy sector, found that 41% of consumers felt under pressure to buy on the doorstep and
50% of those surveyed who signed up and later changed their mind said they signed up because they
felt pressurised (Consumer Focus, 2011).
Analysis of results
When we start to analyse these results we can see that the stickers are not putting a complete stop
to cold calls but there is strong evidence to show that they are reducing the number of cold calls that
people receive. It is also very clear that the packs are helping residents to feel safer, more confident
and better able to get advice and support.
The popularity of our sticker packs is something else that stands out with over 100,000 having been
distributed in 16 months. It is also clear that this initiative is far better placed to meet the demand
of residents than NCCZs ever were. Between 2005 and 2011 we were able to offer NCCZs to around
45,000 households but we also had to turn many residents down. This initiative is able to meet
demand and raise awareness in a way that NCCZs never could.
Prior to the establishing this new initiative there were a range of different door stickers available to
Surrey residents who wished to deter cold calling doorstep traders. A number of agencies, including
Surrey Police, produced their own door stickers and they were all different in words, design and
colour. With our ‘Stop Cold Callers’ sticker packs we have managed to bring agencies together
across Surrey to unite around a common sticker.
It appears that the ‘Stop Cold Callers’ sticker packs have increased residents’ knowledge of where to
get advice and support. This could be partly because the packs contain a sticker to display inside the
front door with our contact details on and this was not included with NCCZ stickers. It may also be
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partly due to the efforts we have made to get residents to positively opt into this initiative and take
responsibility for themselves and possibly because of the efforts we have made to maintain
awareness through the web pages and our newsletters.
It is encouraging to see that people like our web pages and newsletters but clearly more needs to be
done to raise the profile of these as a significant number of respondents say they have not looked at
either of these. We also need to recognise the fact that both the newsletter and the website are not
accessible to residents without internet access.
What stands out above everything else from the results is the fact that our sticker packs are being
used overwhelmingly by people over the age of 60. 51% of all respondents to our survey were over
60 and 52% (622 people) of all the people who have registered their sticker with us are over 65 years
of age.
Age range of residents displaying door stickers
75+
65-74
50-64
35-49
25-34
16-24
Prefer not to say
0%
2%
4%
20%
15%
27%
32%
Surrey is a large county with a growing population, estimated at the 2011 census to be 1,132,400.
This is an increase of 6.9% on the 2001 census figures. Older people aged over 65 now make up
17.2% of the population, an increase of 13% since 2001. This trend looks set to continue as the
fastest growing 5 year cohort since the 2001 census is the 60-64 age group, which has increased by
35%. It is also the case that the old are getting older. There are now 30,000 Surrey residents aged
over 85, which is an increase of 25.5% since 2001.
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When we consider that Surrey is the fifth least deprived county in the UK we can see that Surrey is
likely to continue to appeal to rogue traders who we know often select their victims based on age
and perceived vulnerability and the likelihood of them having money.
There are studies that have been carried out that connect age and vulnerability with doorstep crime
and some of the research is identified in Appendix 9.
Next steps
1. Funding will be required to maintain the availability of the packs and long term funding
opportunities should be explored. Some funding might come from partner organisations
and in particular Surrey Police. We have also been able to use money received by the
Service through the financial incentives under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
2. We need to ensure that we respond to residents’ comments and concerns and learn from
them. We have already addressed the issues with the yellow print fading on the stickers and
hope our latest batch will be more resilient. We need to consider how to respond to
concerns raised about the wording of the stickers and we will be looking to include
information in the Safe and Secure newsletter and our website explaining the reason for the
wording of the stickers.
3. Greater effort should be given to the possibility of a national campaign, possibly a nationally
accepted sticker used by all authorities and Police forces to gain some consistency in
approach across the UK. We have already had an initial meeting with TSI with a view to
exploring this possibility.
4. Much has been done recently to get businesses to respect door stickers and Surrey has been
a catalyst for much of this. For example, we played a key role in ensuring that the Green
Deal Code of Practice required businesses to respect door stickers. It may be worth looking
to approach businesses directly to raise their awareness of this campaign and seek to gain
their support and agreement to respect door stickers. It is difficult to gain support from
businesses while this is a local initiative and this again is a reason to strive for a national
initiative with a consistent approach and a national lead.
5. This evaluation shows that this initiative is very important for older people in Surrey. With
this in mind, it is recommended that we try to specifically raise awareness of this initiative
even further than we have already with carers, care professionals, medical professionals
(e.g. District Nurses), Adult Social Care and organisations that work with and support older
people.
6. Although there is little evidence of people in the Surrey Priority Places3 being significantly
affected by doorstep crime, a focus on raising awareness and take up of the stickers should
be encouraged within Merstham where a high proportion of the population is elderly and
vulnerable. Within Merstham, more than 1 in 20 adults receive social care, 9% of the
population is over 80 and a quarter of households are occupied by a single pensioner.
3
Priority places are geographical areas within which data tells us that residents experience inequality and
deprivation relative to the rest of Surrey.
16
7. We should continue to produce maps to show where the door stickers are displayed and
compare these with reported instances of cold calling doorstep traders. These maps will be
useful for identifying the impact of the stickers over time and also for identifying areas
where there has been limited take up of the stickers.
8. The ‘Safe and Secure’ newsletters are proving very popular and people find the information
useful. It is recommended that these are continued but that we try to encourage more
organisations and partners to sign up to receive these. As we do not have the resources to
post out newsletters we have to rely on email and our website which excludes some of the
older and vulnerable people who particularly need the messages. It is recommended that
we get newsletters displayed in places frequented by older people such as day centres, DialA-Ride taxis and other places where they may be read by older and vulnerable people and by
the people who care for and have contact with them.
9. It is encouraging to know that our web pages are getting a good number of hits but more
could be done to improve the web pages further. We need to respond to what people are
asking for and we should consider including a section giving advice on unsolicited telephone
calls and junk mail as many respondents to our survey voiced concerns and frustration about
this. We also need to try to raise the profile and use of our template letter to send to
traders that ignore door stickers. Either this is hardly ever being used or it is not being
copied to us when it is used.
10. There is currently a lack of current up to date quality research into doorstep crime and it is
time for a national survey of consumer and business attitudes towards doorstep crime and
cold calling. This research could be conducted by the Trading Standards Institute, possibly in
partnership with Citizens Advice or Consumer Focus, and it is recommended that Surrey
Trading Standards make appropriate representations to these bodies.
Conclusion
It is clear, based on this evaluation, that there is overwhelming support throughout Surrey and
beyond for this initiative. It is also clear from the survey results that the initiative is having a positive
impact and making a real difference. The evidence shows that people who display one of our
stickers are more likely to feel safer in their home as a result and are likely to be more confident in
dealing with cold calling doorstep traders.
Doorstep crime causes a significant amount of detriment to many people, both financially and in the
physical and emotional impact it can have on someone’s quality of life. Even doorstep sales carried
out by respected companies offering legitimate products and services can all too often leave people
feeling pressured, confused and worried and sometimes lead them to agree to something they
would not otherwise do.
In Surrey, we believe that all householders have a choice about whether they wish to receive cold
calls from doorstep traders and we believe that traders should respect those wishes. Our ‘Stop Cold
Callers’ initiative allows householders to make that choice.
17
Bibliography
Chandaria, K. (2011). Short Changed: Protecting People with Dementia from Financial Abuse.
Alzheimer's Society.
Chaplin, R. (2011). Crime in England and Wales. Home Office Statistical Bulletin .
Consumer Focus. (2011). The End of the Road. Consumer Focus.
Donaldson, R. (2003). Experiences of older burglary victims. Home Office Findings 198. Home Office.
Home Office. (2007). Distraction Burglary: Recorded Crime Data. Home Office.
O'Keefe. (2007). UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People Prevalence Survey Report. Comic
Relief.
Steele. (2002). The Formulation of a Strategy to Prevent Distraction Burglary Against older Adults.
Thornton, A. (2003). Distraction Burglary Amongst Older Adults and Ethnic Minority Comunities.
Home Office.
Trading Standards Institute. (2003). Door to Door Cold Calling of Property Repairs, Maintenance &
Improvements - Long Overdue for Statutory Control. Trading Standards institute.
Trading Standards institute. (2003). Trading Standards Service: Public Survey – Doorstep
Traders/Callers. Trading Standards institute.
Warwickshire County Council. (2007). Ensuring the Safety of Older People who Live Independently.
Warwickshire County Council.
Appendix 1
Summary of survey results
Appendix 2
Comments received from respondents to the survey
Residents feedback
As mentioned earlier in the survey the yellow stickers do fade in the sunlight stick is now white and
therefore does not stand out
A great idea, but we have had a sign engraved saying no cold callers, salesmen, canvassers, etc. but we
still get 2 or 3 a year who simply don't care and still ring the bell insistently or bang aggressively on the
door.
Where do I get a pack?
Brilliant idea and has worked for me. feel much safer
Sun fades the sticker
I do not have a pack myself, but as NW co-ordinator I distributed them to vulnerable neighbours.
As I was reading this, a young man came to the door selling paintings..............
sometimes some compassion is needed for people trying to eke out a living....but I only answer the door
with y dog in attendance!
There's no space to answer Q11 with a "yes" or "no". I refuse to use Facebook or Twitter.
Doorstep traders generally leave when I point out the sticker to them but it doesn't seem to deter them
from knocking in the first place!
How about putting one in every child's school bag to take home?
Really great scheme - keep up the good work.
I have no problem with dealing with them. It is telephone calls I find intrusive and a waste of time
Didn't realise these existed. Will definitely try and get a pack
would like a means of stopping telephone cold callers
Run out neighbourhood watch scheme and would be helpful to have for each house
The stickers make my home look messy. I'd rather cold callers, in particular ex-offenders just didn't
knock.
Our experience suggests the sticker is very effective.
A very good initiative - well done
If faced with a cold caller we normally point them to the sticker and ask "what part of those don't you
understand?" Unfortunately most who ignore the sticker will continue to argue the toss as they believe
it doesn't apply to them! Anyway there has been a marked improvement since displaying the sticker.
Thank you.
I do not use either
Could the message be less aggressive in tone?
no further comments
A great idea and feel less intimidated by these cold callers
Daily unwanted international phone calls are a concern e.g. re our bank, computer
I was given a single sticker for the outside of the door about 3 yrs. ago when Scottish Power were
executing high-pressure sales. However, I did not receive the whole pack from Trading Standards. They
were very helpful. The sticker is sometimes ignores by cold-callers, but i get very few.
None for the time being
Just a shame they don't work with telephone cold callers! We've registered with the TPS but still get
callers who say we've filled in a survey asking them to call - which we don't. They are annoying but a
ref's whistle down the line and hanging up seems to deter them!!
Can cold callers read?! And do they take any notice of stickers?
where do we get a pack/
Why not give them to Neighbourhood Watch members?
when cold caller came found it amusing when I pointed out sticker said it did not apply to him another
caller completely ignored it and banged and rang bell some people ignore it all together
How do we get hold of these cold calling packs?
I am happy that a reduced number of cold callers are knocking at my door but the sticker is a little
unsightly, I wonder if street signs could be put up, does anyone really welcome cold callers after all?
I have a frosted glass window in my door and the writing is not clearly visible. It would be better if they
could be made more weatherproof and be able to be stuck on the outside of the door also to be more
visible to any callers.
I fell that the sticker would just make the caller be smarter about how they made their pitch
None
I live in a "no cold calling" area of Ashtead and I am convinced that the sticker at my front door is totally
ignored. When I point it out to a cold caller the usual response is "I need to earn a living" or something
similar. When are you going to make some well published prosecutions to put these people off trying it
on?
Despite having a NO COLD CALLERS sign on my front door some people still knock, I find this one of the
most annoying things I have to deal with.
I worry that putting one of these stickers on my door would suggest that I am an elderly or vulnerable
resident. I would prefer the council to just crack down on these traders and clothes collectors so that a
sticker was not necessary.
I think there needs to be a differentiation between traders and charities. Many charities rely on the
money they get from singing people up on the door and it would be a shame to see the services they
offer stop. I know they are a grey area when it comes to cold calling so I think there needs to be a real
effort to decide and communicate to those with the stickers and the charities involved, whether the
stickers apply to them or not. I would rather they didn't apply and charities were still allowed to call.
students trying to sell things ignore the sticker, so do the gypsies wanting to jet wash the drive. Also
Mitsubishi garage in Chertsey sends out canvassers for pre-paid car servicing; they ignore it too. I just
point to the sticker and close the door.
Although I display the 'Cold Calling Sticker' by the side of my front door I still receive unwanted callers.
When I point out the sticker the usual comment is "I didn't see it" so as a suggestion could you make a
larger version of the sticker? ?
Practically all of my neighbours display the stickers, I gave them.
I think the design of your door sticker is key to its' success
I will not use Facebook or Twitter.
I have felt that displaying the stickers may indicate that I am not confident.
wish you could put one on my landline too!!
There ought to be more designated areas for "no cold callers"
Sticker has faded very quickly in the sun!
We don’t use twitter or facebook. The yellow of the sticker is now white after a few months. It would be
better if the colour did not fade.
I'd like the cold calling to stop without having to put silly stickers on my front door!
The sticker I currently display is different from that shown. Have they changed? I've based my answers
on the pack received a couple of years ago.
As a Neighbourhood Watch coordinator for my area of 200 homes I have distributed your sticker packs
to all the homes. Only 35 of the 200 have actually displayed them - not including me. I can see their
value to some people, but I have not had a problem with cold callers, indeed I have done business with
them (tree trimmers, for instance, who are cheaper than calling in established companies),
Why can't we have Stop Cold Calling notices on lamp posts like the nhw signs
make them less garish!! Something more subtle. Possibly a landscape version too, some doors only have
limited window space.
Stop Cold Calling Packs and Stickers are very good idea
We still get callers who see the notice and insist on telling us they are NOT selling anything when in fact
they are!!!!!!!
it is a great preventative measure - stops cold callers before they call
I'd like some regular news updates in a format I can immediately circulate add to my e-news and put on
our website wwww.surreycare.org.uk. I also circulate them to my own local NW coordinators
Believe you should turn your attention to telephonic cold calling, it is particularly bad in my area.
Do not use Twitter or Facebook
still get the odd cold caller despite having sticker on front door
I have always rebuffed cold callers but they are a real nuisance in our neighbourhood. As a zone rep I
have distributed the packs to my zone residents and handed them out to anyone requesting them. I
have found them very effective indeed. Well done. The white sticker has a typo - it says stick outside
the door should this not be inside the door?
The stickers seem a big aggressive, I would rather they were more polite
Why don't you just send them out to all residents in Surrey with the next major distribution e.g.
electoral register update or voting cards
Advertise the packs with a leaflet drop in local papers
Those that call seem to target 7pm when trading standards are shut
I don't buy at the door or over the phone
Only comment from residents is that they are too large.
I am so pleased you've done this - thank you so much!!
I have not been displaying the sticker for very long.
About to have windows done - may I have another pack please
I have the sticker displayed , but junk calls and leaflets still arrive
How about putting no cold calling signs in roads where a lot of packs are registered, this is done in
Horley Surrey.
You almost feel rude if someone does knock and ignore the sticker to point it out. Definitely a massive
drop in cold callers since displaying the new stronger sticker
When we had a cold caller, I contacted 'you' as requested & was informed there was no-one who dealt
with this.
great partnership working
I am delighted you have introduced this scheme. I am sure a lot of elderly people feel a lot more secure
in their homes now.
Social media is not likely to reach the elder demograph of the population who are most susceptible to
bogus callers and rogue traders, but I do think that the packs are a good idea.
The yellow colour of the sticker fades badly and is now white after less than a year so it is not as visible.
Thanks. I wonder if more can be done to report those who ignore the stickers
The sticker does not stay on very well, and could easily be peeled off by unwelcome visitors.
A very good idea and I feel it helps to fight back with cold callers some of whom could be a bit
intimidating when you say no. We NEVER buy from the door
Only caller I have had said he could not read.
Information pack informs to report callers to the police, I have done this on 3 occasions and all times I
have been informed that they shall log a call,, however they cannot do anything and not sure if is worth
logging a call with them
No/ No comments
Stop religious callers knocking they are selling their beliefs. Horrified to be told by Jehovahs Witnesses
they have a letter from Surrey County Council saying they are allowed to knock. This is the same as
traders calling to sell you something and must be stopped.
If there are changes in the law regarding this sort of thing, I hope you will keep us up to date.
Thank you! I have had only one cold caller since I put the sticker up. Prior to that, I had at least three a
week. What a difference the sticker has made!
I have only recently had my sticker, so it's early days to be sure it's effective.
No further comments, have replied to your previous mailshot
A bit trivial but could the stickers be a bit more long lasting? My front door gets a lot of sun and the
sticker has lost its yellow colour plus the sides are curling up at the edges.
The stickers are great but the yellow sticker is fading to white due to strong sunlight
we had one cold caller who said he couldn't read the notice because he didn't have his glasses on!
it seems not to many are aware. a run in the local every now and then might help especially when there
is activity about as some still want to ignore the sign but it’s still a jolly good idea... thanks
I sometimes get Cold Callers and when I point to the sticker they say they are "not selling anything, just
want to give you a free quote". However, that is still selling something!
The pack has probably been effective but it does not deter the persistent salesman although these tend
to leave when told there is no interest in their product or service. These stickers could do with renewing
annually - mine is so faded it is hard to stand out from the white door.
Still getting calls from xxx even though it was this company that prompted us to register in the first
place. the initial contact kids they employ argue that the stickers don't apply to them!
i wish my neighbours would display them
I am Regional coordinator for NhW and would like 100 stickers to give to vulnerable people in Claygate
I think the stickers should all be for the inside of the window
Could do with some NO JUNK MAIL stickers to prevent Cold Callers putting these thru door
I don't think I have had it long enough to notice any difference - I only got it about 2 months ago.
We feel that the sticker errs towards rudeness and are not sure whether we are comfortable displaying
it.
The External Yellow/Black sticker is now just Black and White!!
excellent scheme
The yellow sticker has badly faded. How do i get a replacement?
In the Preston ward Tadworth, there are a number of properties, displaying the sticker, which has
helped. Sometimes the person, who is knocking has not looked at the sticker. While others say don’t
knock there, they have got a sticker. When cold calling is happening, we do call the police, to check
them out.
The yellow sticker has faded to white! I think you will have to change the ink/paper
Have no contact with either Twitter or Facebook
The colour on the sticker have faded to just black and white.
Keep up the good work. Wish we could stop cold calls by telephone.
Very useful to be able to point to the sticker if a cold caller calls. One tried to tell my wife the stickers
were a waste of time but quickly left.
The yellow stickers fade, though are still clear to read
Would like them to be more readily available, I had a job to find them, I was after one on the house
when we moved and several times at Police awareness events they were out of stock. Saying that the
ones I eventually got hold of are much better and offer more support, I particularly like the sticker that
goes in the inside of the door.
Make area a no cold caller area
A good idea, especially for the really old.
One cold caller said "it’s not illegal as I'm just telling you about a Government initiative" - home
insulation. I sent him away but are Govt. Depts. encouraging people to ignore these signs if they have
initiatives?
I use a no cold callers sign from Martin Lewis, It seems to be ignored, by many. Only the ones from the
police seem to work (my daughter worked for door 2 door chuggers and she was told to ignore all signs
apart from the police ones. You need to all use the same one, e.g. one from the police that includes no
charities
Partners feedback
I feel it would be useful to include some extra information on the leaflets about preventing cold calls on
the telephone and also junk mail and how and when to report someone who phones you. In Waverley
we receive many calls from vulnerable residents and their family where people have been phoned by
suspect companies.
Well received
Gave them the confidence to challenge cold callers
They have been well received by residents. We have residents asking for them at engagement events
no
have used the information to challenge door step callers
They have been more vigilant and have told cold callers it’s a no cold calling zone and the callers have
left. very effective
The residents absolutely love the packs and were all really supportive and happy when they received
them
Some residents have expressed the opinion that bogus callers will just ignore the stickers and cold call at
their doorstep anyway. They are also frustrated that no cold calling zones are not enforceable by Police.
Yes we have had no cold callers for months now
Many report that the yellow sticker quickly fades almost to white and are concerned it is less visible
Appendix 3
Page showing web hits for the ‘Stop Cold Callers’ pages this year
Appendix 4
Municipal Journal Award Submission
Appendix 5
Summary of comments received from people about this initiative that were not captured as part
of the survey
“Many thanks The incidence of cold callers has increased significantly recently and when I say No
thanks and close the door I have been verbally abused as a stuck up cow etc. I work from home so
cold callers interrupt phone calls web conferences and my thought processes. Although I am not a
vulnerable person I do find cold calls very annoying. On the occasions when I have been abused I have
felt intimidated as the cold caller knows where I live and could return to do something destructive.
Some of these cold callers are very unpleasant. I am hopeful that the sticker prominently displayed
will a) reduce the incidence of cold callers and b) remind cold callers that I know the law. So many
thanks and well done.”
“My sticker has worked a treat!”
“You ask for views about newsletter - safe and secure. Must admit when eyes were not up to par, I
did find the size of font rather too small for easy reading. Carers, in particular, are very busy people,
with little, or no spare time to do what they want to do for themselves. Professionals ensure they pile
on heaps of unwanted stress too, so health declines greatly, and so it goes on. If you could arrange
to print the newsletters in, say at least 10-, or better still 12 font that would be great - even though I
have one eye capable of reading print once more. Larger bolder print is always easier to read and
takes less time to ponder over the text. Message is received quicker too.
It is good to know we have Trading Standards backing to try to prevent these rogues from ripping off
people in my age group. Many, I know, have suffered greatly in the past. Some lost thousands of
pounds.
Keep up the good work you and the team are doing.”
“To be honest I found the sticker to be a bit aggressive and have cut it down in size but callers still
ignore it! Pity there is no way of having the equivalent for the telephone, I receive up to 3 cold calls a
day!”
“Thank you for the latest Trading Standards Stop Cold Callers newsletter. Always a useful and
interesting read.
I have displayed (and registered) my Stop Cold callers sticker since it was first available. Having been
stuck on my front door all this time it is now badly faded and need of replacement. Can you advise
how I obtain a new one.”
“I am pleased to inform you that since putting the sticker on my door I have not had a single cold
caller, the one thing that does annoy me, but it is probably out of your remit is Leaflets although I
have a large sign by my letterbox says NO LEAFLETTS they still come pouring through the letterbox
nearly every day, if I catch the person delivering them I call them back and ask them if they can read
and to take the leaflet back, I just usually get offensive remarks back though, I have phoned the
worst offender up a Pizza place and they are not a bit interested in my complaint. But it is really
annoying after stopping home delivery of Milk & Papers when coming home from a day out the
leaflets are hanging out of the letterbox letting all the criminals know that nobody is at home”
“Thank you for the newsletter. This was very interesting to me.”
“What an excellent news letter. Thank you very much for all the good advice.”
“Waste of time having the sticker! I live in Beare Green and have had two callers in the past week!!”
“I am very pleased to have been able to read about your initiative about rogue traders and wish to
make two points:
1. I fear that the next scam will be rogue callers claiming to represent the television "switchover
help scheme".
2. In the past two years I have telephoned Surrey Police on three occasions when suspicious callers
have called on me. Each time I have closed my front door, telephoned the police and have been kept
waiting for such a long period that I have hung up. I have not of course rang 999 even though one of
the callers persisted in ringing the door bell several times.”
“I have a sticker on my front door, though I'm unclear whether I'm in a Zone. The website should
make clear whether stickers can be posted by individuals regardless of whether they are in a
designated no cold-caller zone.”
“I am a Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator – all residents decided, as a result of unwanted traders
calling and increase in burglaries, we sign up to the Cold Caller Scheme. Most residents were
enthusiastic and signed for their packs from Trading Standards. However, having read the rather
aggressive wording on the yellow sticker some residents decided not to display it. The wording is
quite aggressive and could be perceived as inflammatory. We agree it needs to be firm but not a
point of conflict.
Those houses that do have the stickers displayed reported a drop in unwanted callers. However, xxxx
canvassed the whole street despite being warned. Also the “ex offenders” selling cleaning products
ignore the stickers..... Therefore I’d say a mixed review.”
Appendix 6
Door sticker available on the Daily Mirror
website
Door sticker available on the Money Saving
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/tag
/coldcallers
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phone
Door sticker being promoted by the Trading
Standards Institute for National Consumer
Week
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/events
/events-ncw.cfm
Expert website
s/no-more-junk
Appendix 7
Case Studies
Mr A
Mr A was one of many rogue traders who was successfully
prosecuted by Surrey Trading Standards.
From Cranleigh, he cold called at the homes of elderly and
vulnerable people to talk them into having expensive, shoddy
and unnecessary work carried out to their property. One of his
approaches, was to tell his victims that his father had supposedly
done work for them previously. In one case, he took over
£59,000 for roofing work valued at no more than £3000. In
another, he took £78,000 from a trusting elderly widow, for what
he persuaded her was a hightech
treatment to her driveway. In reality, all he did was to paint it
black.
In September 2010, Mr A was sentenced to over 5 years in prison for his crimes but we were
determined to ensure that he was also deprived of the benefit he had derived from his offending.
We were able to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to force him to pay back the money he had
wrongfully gained. We have now recovered over £45,000, which has been used to compensate his
victims.
Mr B
Mr B was a rogue trader who was prosecuted by us on more than one occasion
before finally, in September 2010, being sentenced to 3 years in prison for fraud
and money laundering offences. He would cold call consumers and persuade
them to have driveway and garden maintenance work carried out. He would then
carry out a poor or incomplete job or no work at all.
We were able to recover £10,000 from Mr B which has been used to compensate
his victims.
Scottish and Southern Energy PLC
Cold calling energy salesmen have generated many complaints to Trading Standards. Consumers
have reported feeling misled by overly pushy salesmen. The good news is that now, all of the ‘Big 6’
Energy companies have taken the unprecedented step of stopping cold calling. This decision follows
our successful prosecution of Scottish and Southern Energy PLC for misleading consumers through a
sales script salesmen were trained to use on the doorstep. The company were fined £1.25million
pounds after being found guilty of misleading consumers
and have now set aside £5 million to compensate victims
of misspelling.
This case shows the impact that we can have and it has
changed the way that energy companies conduct their
business.
Recent Success
In February 2013 four individuals were sentenced to a total of eight years in prison for their part in
conning tens of thousands of pounds from elderly Surrey, Kent and London residents. The organised
crime group pocketed around £100,000 from their victims by fooling them into believing they
needed large scale building work on their homes. Little or no work was found to have been carried
out.
The investigation was carried out by Surrey Trading Standards Service and the Surrey Police Cross
Border Investigation Team.
Current investigations
We currently have several investigations underway into suspected rogue
traders. Including a Surrey trader who is suspected of laundering over
£1million in money obtained from victims of rogue trading. Another case
involves suspected rogue traders who have been targeting victims across
a wide part of South East England and who attempted to take £26,000
from one victim for work valued by a surveyor as worthless.
Appendix 8
Safe and Secure newsletter issue 4
Appendix 9
Age, vulnerability and Doorstep Crime
Older people tend to be less likely to be victims of crime than younger people but it is widely
accepted that doorstep crime is an anomaly to this rule. Older people are more likely to be victims
of doorstep crime than other groups within society. This may be for a number of reasons but it
appears to be primarily because they are perceived to be more vulnerable and easier to target than
younger people. Research from offender interviews reveal that more money is likely to be
unethically taken from older adults by bogus property repair type scams than is taken by prima facie
criminal offences (Steele, 2002).
In a study conducted by the Alzheimer’s Society in 2011 it was found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of
carers reported that the person they care for had been approached by unsolicited or unscrupulous
cold callers, or doorstep salespeople. Usually the salesperson was trying to sell products and services
to the person with dementia. About 15% of carers surveyed said the person they care for had either
been approached by rogue traders trying to sell them needless items or building work, or had
actually had unnecessary work done. This was described as a growing concern, particularly by
professionals working with people with dementia who felt that organised criminals were becoming
alert to the vulnerability of people with dementia (Chandaria, 2011).
A Department of Health and Comic Relief study reported financial abuse as the second most
common type of elder abuse, after neglect and the risk of financial abuse increased for those living
alone, those in receipt of services, those in bad or very bad health, older men, and women who were
divorced or separated, or lonely (O'Keefe, 2007).
Research conducted by the Home Office in 2003 suggests that older victims of burglary decline in
health faster than non-victims of a similar age. Two years after the burglary, they were 2.4 times
more likely to have died or to be in residential care than their non-burgled neighbours (Donaldson,
2003). Older victims of distraction burglary decline in health faster than their non-victim peers. 40%
of victims reported a change in their quality of life (Thornton, 2003).
Research suggests that crime appears to be something that the old worry about more than the
young. It has been suggested that older people rate the fear of crime as their most serious personal
problem and it has also been stated that 75% of older victims report an increased and prolonged
fear of crime after becoming a victim. Older people feel more vulnerable to crime for several
reasons including diminished physical strength making them feel powerless to resist a male
perpetrator. Older people often live alone which makes them more vulnerable and easier to burgle
(Trading Standards Institute, 2003). One of the fundamental reasons why there is a disproportionate
fear of crime among older people is because despite the majority of older people being healthy and
active, the physical consequences of experiencing a crime are more likely to have a serious longterm effect on older people. Also as older people increasingly retire from social life it can aggravate
the sense of vulnerability and fear that they feel leading to greater social isolation and so on.
In Warwickshire the Older People’s Services wave of a Citizen’s Panel in 2005 found that 83% of
respondents were worried about distraction burglaries, 77% were worried about doorstep selling
and 77% were worried about cold calling (Warwickshire County Council, 2007).
I have not been able to locate national figures for offences involving cold calling doorstep traders but
I have found figures for distraction burglary. In 2005/06, distraction burglary comprised 4% of all
burglaries, with the highest rates in London (10 per 10,000 households), followed by Leicester,
Northamptonshire, and South Yorkshire (9 per 10,000 households); and Surrey and Hertfordshire (8
per 10,000 households) (Home Office, 2007). These figures reveal that distraction burglary is a
bigger issue for Surrey than for many other counties. The British Crime Survey for 2010-11 showed
that recorded crime for distraction burglary fell by 21% from 2009-10 to 2010-11 (6936 – 5480).
Recorded attempts fell by 25% (722 – 544) (Chaplin, 2011).
Appendix 10
Stop Cold Callers sticker pack