Abstract This article explores the phenomenon whereby disabled people’s homes are being occupied (i.e. cuckooed) by local perpetrators and/or county lines organised criminal groups. This study employs a qualitative biographical methodology that collects data from disabled people who have been victimised this way and practitioners who have worked with them. The findings illustrate that social isolation, loneliness and a lack of community services can create a space where the exploitation of disabled people can flourish. We conclude by demonstrating that cuckooing predominantly occurs at a local level, perpetrated by local people, rather than by county lines organised criminal groups; that, in fact, local cuckooing can predate county lines takeovers. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2022.2071680 Points of interest Cuckooing refers to an individual or a group of individuals targeting a person with the intent of taking over their homes.
Cuckooing has gained recent media attention because of its association with county lines, which describes how organised criminals develop new drug markets in areas that have traditionally not had a drug problem. The findings suggest that cuckooing occurs because disabled people often find themselves socially isolated within their communities which leaves them at risk of exploitation. This article suggests that cuckooing is not just a method of exploitation employed by county lines organised criminal groups, but it is, more commonly, a problem associated with the exploitation of disabled people at a local level by local people. The research illustrates that this form of crime occurs through a lack of adult services, arising because of nationally driven austerity policies, and this leads to disabled people being identified as ‘easy targets’ who have homes that are valuable resources/commodities for others to use and exploit. Keywords: Cuckooinghome takeovermate crimecounty lineslocal gangsorganised criminal groups (OCGs) -- सादर/ Regards अविनाश शाही/ Avinash Shahi सहायक/ Assistant मानव संसाधन प्रबंध विभाग/ Human Resource Management Department भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक/ Reserve Bank of India लखनऊ क्षेत्रीय कार्यालय/Lucknow RO विस्तार/ Extension: 2232 -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CADeSQ2hrEE7i_WZtExn5m_GGv9zcAmyniZ2Oq4vSHgmfZfSp8A%40mail.gmail.com.
