Don’t swim with the sharks

In England today, the Centre fior Social Justice estimates that as many as 1.08 million people could be borrowing from an illegal money lender, very often violent predators or criminal groups

MANY people will be waking up to 2023 wondering how they are going to pay for Christmas borrowing.

Thousands will have borrowed on credit cards or taken out loans to pay for the festive season.

But a shock report by the Centre for Social Justice - SwimmingWith Sharks has revealed that as many as 1.08 million families may have borroswed oney from an illegal money lender.

Two in five of us confessed in a recent survey to concealing a financial product from a loved one, such as a credit card or loan.

But despite how common it is to disguise our financial situation, some hidden debts are worse than others.

Money borrowed from an illegal lender is arguably the most dangerous category of hidden debt.

And yet there remain large gaps in our collective understanding of this notoriously elusive crime.

The CSJ report attempts to put this right – and is the culmination of the first major study of illegal money lending in a decade.

CSJ teams travelled the breadth of the country to understand where and how illegal lending takes place; commissioned polling of over 8,000 UK adults; compiled and analysed the largest sample of known victims to date,

They heard first-hand the powerful stories of those exploited, often by ‘friends ’ who turn out to not be friends at all. In England today, we estimate that as many as 1.08 million people could be borrowing from an illegal money lender.

Illegal lending exists in many forms, from small-scale lenders who pester their victims into repayment to violent predators and organised crime groups.

Some lenders even attempt to add a thin veil of legitimacy to their illegal lending by advertising themselves as a company, drawing up fake contracts, and independently lending to vulnerable clients while working for a separate, legitimate company.

Yet the practices used by illegal lenders are changing. New evidence presented in this report shows illegal lenders to be increasingly operating online, using the rapidly evolving social media landscape to entice and exploit new victims.

Using an unpublished dataset of over 1,200 victims, we have carried out the first analysis of its kind to understand the picture of loan shark victims today.

What emerges in the data of known victims is that anyone can be exploited by an illegal money lender, but most victims face a range of interwoven disadvantages – low incomes, long-term health problems and pre-existing indebtedness.

These are the people at the sharpest edge of today ’ s cost-of-living crisis.And the combination of pressures on household budgets, low financial resilience and increasingly limited credit options is liable to create a perfect storm in which people are driven towards exploitation.

Given this context, the continued scale of the problem and its ruinous impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged people in society, the CSJ believes that we must urgently renew the fight against illegal money lending.

In Swimming with Sharks, the CSJ advance 24 recommendations to tackle illegal lending in England today and put people on a path to financial resilience.

Read the full report on YouTube by clicking on the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=1R4wOcEW5uc&feature=yout u.be

CRIME A AND COMMUNITY NEWS Success for rural ‘detectives’

TWO men who conspired to steal agricultural global positioning systems and other technical equipment have been sentenced to a total of of six years and 10 months in jail.

Aidas Cesna, 28, and Gintaras Jankauskas, 30, both admitted conspiring to steal equipment valued at approximately £380,000 from agricultural vehicles at 13 farms and estates across Essex between 28 September and 27 October 2021.

And at Jankauskas was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court to three years and 10 months in prison.The court also made a deprivation order for his car and he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

Cesna was jailed for three years in July at Chester Crown Court for the same offence. He was also jailed for a further one year and six months for committing a burglary, two thefts and theft from a motor vehicle on farms and estates in Cheshire between 10 and 14 February this year.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard that, through technical analysis, officers were able to place both Cesna and Jankauskas at the scene of 14 thefts of technical equipment from combine harvesters, tractors and sprayers across Essex.

Equipment stolen included GPS equipment, navigation systems and satellite receivers, computer screens and control boxes.

“Theft of GPS equipment hits our farmers hard, ” said PC Samantha Smith of the Rural EngagementTeam.

“Global positioning systems are a critical part of modern farming and cost thousands of pounds to replace.

“Then there are the additional costs and time out of operation required to repair the damage caused by thieves.

“So, thefts can cause significant harm and disruption to farm businesses, particularly in the autumn, when delays can prove extremely costly for farmers bringing in their harvest. ”

“Cesna and Jankauskas carried out a spree of thefts and took more than £350,000 worth of equipment over a few days.

“Thefts like these have been terrorising rural communities up and down the country, causing a huge financial loss to hard-working farmers.

“Equipment is not straightforward to replace and, often, machines are heavily damaged in the process, leaving farmers without the essential tools they need to do their job.

“In the face of the evidence collected by Cheshire Police and Essex Police, they pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. ”

The Rural EngagementTeam was set up specifically to engage with our rural communities. Officers investigate and help to prevent crimes which matter to you, such as theft of agricultural vehicles and technical equipment, hare coursing, fly-tipping and animal cruelty.

And they also liaise with partner agencies to take enforcement action against those who breach legislation and to tackle specific rural issues through proactive operations.

If you have evidence of rural equipment theft, you can report it online, where you can also provide information directly to an online Live Chat operator between 10am and 9pm. Alternatively, you can ring 101.

You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, online or by calling 0800 555 111

PC Samantha Smith of the Rural Engagement Team.

Aidas Cesna, jailed for six years

CRIME AND COMMUNITY NEWS

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington and Lord Lieutenant Jennifer Tolhurst with recipients of long-service medals.

Rescue squad is here to help every single day of the year

ESSEX Search & Rescue has celebrated its 20th birthday and marked the dedication of their members who search for missing and vulnerable people..

ESAR is staffed by 70 volunteers who are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Their specialist ground search, water, dog, drone, and mountain bike teams have conducted 177 searches alongside the police since the start of 2020.

Chairman Steve Jarrett was given a specially commissioned plaque by Essex Police to mark ESAR’ s anniversary and many of the team were awarded certificates for 1,000 and 2,000 hours of voluntary service.

In total, those recognised on the night had given more than 32,000 hours of their time to help the people of Essex.

ESAR chairman Steve Jarrett said: “This was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate 20 years of supporting the emergency services in Essex and the great people we have who volunteer with us. It takes a lot of emotional commitment to be part of the team.

“We are entirely not-for-profit and don ’t cost the taxpayer a penny, so for us to provide the service we do is something to be incredibly proud of. ”

Matt Cloke, ESAR’ s search manager and head of operations, has clocked up nearly 3,000 hours of service over 18 years.

A chartered surveyor by day, Matt believes the sense of achievement the team experience on a successful search is hard to beat.

He said: “We go out in the rain, mud and snow but when we find someone who is missing who may have dementia or be undergoing a person crisis, and we get them safely home to their family, it gives us a great deal of satisfaction. There isn ’t a feeling like it.

“A lot of the work we do does go slightly unsung because we want to respect their privacy of the people we ’ re helping, but we know what we do makes a difference. ”

T/Inspector Simon Gray of Specialist Operations works closely with ESAR and hopes the relationship continues to flourish.

He said: “They are absolutely invaluable. When it comes to high risk missing people, I don ’t know what the force would do without them.

“When call our contact and within a very short space of time we have 20 or more volunteers who will turn up wherever they ’ re needed across the county to help us search.

“Every time they come out, I thank them, but words aren ’t enough for the amazing job they do. ”

Essex Search & Rescue are a registered charity who are funded entirely by donations.

If you would like to donate to help them pay for training or life-saving equipment, or offer you time as a volunteer, visit their website essexsearchandrescue.org.uk.

CRIME AND COMMUNITY NEWS Learning to cope without a dad

THE lives of young men facing life without a male role model are being saved in north Essex.

Lads Need Dads prevents potential problems and addresses existing ones where boys inTendring are missing a father figure in their lives.

Dads could be missing due to family breakdown,they could have died,be in prison or have simply never been in their child’ s life.

The 18-month early intervention programme Equip,Engage and Inspire has been developed for boys aged 11 to 15,providing male-led group mentoring,bushcraft and outdoor activities,practical life skills,community volunteering opportunities,peer mentor training and the opportunity to meet inspiring men and visit inspiring places.

The Police,Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex (PFCC) contributed £8,868 to Lads Need Dads from the 2022-23 Crime Prevention Fund to fund an Equip programme in Colchester.

During the six-month Equip part of the programme,young men take part in weekly self-development group work and outdoor activities,looking at topics such as anger and emotions,dealing with conflict,risk taking and consequences,managing stress, healthy versus unhealthy relationships,and bystander intervention.

The project aims to help boys to develop emotional intelligence,reduce anger,increase confidence,motivation and self-esteem, as well as improve behaviour, relationships and attitude towards school.

Founder Sonia Shaljean said: “We are the only long-term,early intervention project in the UK working with boys with absent fathers. It is about equipping and empowering them before they lose their way in life.Boys without a father are at a much higher risk of underachieving or disruptive behaviour and being excluded from school.

“Eighty-six per cent of boys in custody were excluded from school.We want to prevent that from happening.If we had not worked with some of the boys we have done,we may have lost them to suicide.

“They are at a high risk of that.We are not just preventing them from going into crime and offending,we are also supporting their mental health. ”

Just as the PFCC is focusing his efforts on preventing crime from happening in the first place,Lads Need Dads is working to reach young men before their lives are in trouble.

Sonia added: “Early intervention is absolutely key.It is saving lives in the long run, as well as money.Prisons are full of men; the streets are full of homeless men;high numbers of men kill themselves.We want to get to them while they are developing into young men. ”