Fake charity bag collections could be funding gangs (From This Is Cheshire)

Fake charity bag collections could be funding gangs

9:30am Friday 12th March 2010

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CRIMINALS who prey on people’s goodwill by masquerading as charity collectors have been branded ‘despicable’ by a police officer.

PC Richard Whitehead, from Warrington South NPU, has advised residents to take items to charity shops rather than leaving goods in charity bags on doorsteps following a spate of thefts.

He said: “Don’t put them outside your homes because you can’t be sure where they are going to end up. Are they fuelling organised gangs? They could be encouraging human trafficking.

“We have got to start taking ownership of the problem.”

He said many of the fliers asking for clothing donations are genuine but a number are not from a charitable cause.

On Thursday two Latvian men were arrested on Fairfield Road, Stockton Heath, following reports that a bag which a resident had left out for an air ambulance charity was taken.

One man was issued with a caution after being found in possession of unmarked bags containing items and leaflets advertising collections for an alleged asthma organisation which was not a registered charity.

He said: “Anybody who wants to continue giving to charity through this method should contact the charity before doing so. Otherwise it could just be encouraging a criminal gang that is working across the country. It is the charities that are going to lose out.”

He called for charities to start using signed vehicles and for collectors to carry identification with clear instructions for people who are concerned.

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