Doorstop collections have gone from 53% in 2008 to just 18% last year. This has resulted in charities losing over £50 million annually.
The fall in donations has been linked to the increase of bogus doorstop collections conducted by organised criminal gangs who will then go on to sell the stock abroad for profit. Further CRA research has concluded that the same criminal gangs are also operating in trafficking, fraud and violent crime.
CRA is set to launch a Stop Charity Bag Crime campaign this month ahead of the police and crime commissioner elections, which is a direct call to action for candidates to pledge to help tackle these bogus collections.
In response to the report a meeting has taken place to directly address the issue and was attended by representatives from Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), UK Border Agency, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), HMRC, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and the Home Office. It has been highlighted that charities should more proactive in helping to tackle this issue and work more productively with enforcement agencies to feed back intelligence, in particular improving communication with police forces.
The charity sector is pulling together to look into new ways to work through the National Business Crime Solution which allows sharing of data of crime across retail and business.
You can find out more about the CRA bogus bag collection pledge and the Stop Charity Bag Crime campaign on their website.
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