Horsham included in Operation Rogue Trader

The joint exercise has been aimed at rogue traders and aggressive doorstep sellers.

The Preventions teams for Horsham, Adur and Worthing, went out with two trading standards officers during the week and patrolled a number of different areas.

They spoke to around 12-15 tradespeople but everyone said they were happy with the work being completed.

Operation Rogue Trader is a national multi-agency campaign co-ordinated by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) with Liberal, the Police National Intelligence Unit.

Last year’s campaign involved more than 1,400 personnel; 1,806 were stopped and searched, 87 arrests made with 871 offences and more than £40,000 in property seized.

Operation Rogue Trader began specifically to target doorstep crimes, especially distraction burglaries and rogue trader offences.

As rogue trading practices diversified, the exercide grew to allow participating authorities to pro-actively target criminal behaviour, and raise awareness among the most vulnerable groups.

A Sussex Police spokesperson said “Two of our priorities are to protect the vulnerable and catch criminals. Rogue Traders and fraudsters are unscrupulous and target people for their own personal gain. Working in partnership strengthens how we can deal with rogue traders and by raising awareness of their activity allows us to protect the public and keep people safe.”

If you suspect someone of being a rogue trader, or find yourself accosted by uninvited doorstep sellers, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 040506 or contact police on 999 or 101.