In Greater Manchester, on the trail of the bin rats are the Halliwell Priority Action Area Team is working with the Bolton Copshop and the Halliwell Burglary Reduction Project.
It’s a crime becoming more prevalent, police say, whereby offenders search through peoples’ domestic bins to collect and use personal information for financial gain.
In the New Year, shredders were placed in the UCAN Centre on Hatfield Road and Prince Street Housing Office in Halliwell for people who wanted to shred their personal information.
Staples has agreed to provide vouchers giving a 10pc discount on domestic shredders for those who want to buy their own from their Trinity Retail Park store. Vouchers are valid until February 1. Vouchers are also available by calling Mandy Symes on 0161 856 5515 or 07795811583.
The partnership is also looking at Anti Social Behaviour processes, including the possibility of issuing ASBOs, to deal with individuals who are persistently looking through peoples’ domestic waste.
What they say
Superintendent Janette McCormick said: "Bin ratting is becoming more and more prevalent and yet it is easily avoided by taking care to shred sensitive information such as bank statements, letters and sales receipts. People should also avoid leaving bins out overnight and, where possible, should secure their bins out of sight.
With the help and cooperation of the local community in Halliwell, we want to make it as difficult as possible for offenders to continue to prosper by stealing personal information from peoples’ bins. Offenders should be aware that we take this crime extremely seriously and are determined to tackle it."
