Man claiming to be police officer targets elderly people in Rochdale

Efit bogus officer Rochdale

A man claiming to be a police officer has targeted elderly people in two incidents in the Rochdale area.

At around 11.30am on Tuesday 5 November 2013, a 75-year-old man answered a knock on his door to his Lewis Drive home in Heywood. A man, claiming to be from the police, walked into the hallway and told him that there was someone in his back garden.

Realising the man was not an officer, the homeowner asked for ID and when it was not provided, told him to get out of his house. Nothing was stolen.

At around 1.20pm on the same day, a man knocked on the door of a house on Stannycliffe Lane, Middleton. When the 87-year-old homeowner answered, the man said he was a police officer and had arrested youths who had been found at the back of her house.

He invited himself into her home and asked where she kept her valuables and money before taking a quantity of cash and left.

Police have now released an e-fit of the man believed to be responsible for both crimes.

Detective Constable Dan Daly from Middleton INPT said: “Due to the similarities between these two crimes, we are linking them both.

“This man has purposefully targeted elderly people to get what he wanted.
In the first case, he did not take anything but in the second crime, the victim felt intimidated and believed he was a police officer.

“I would like to remind people that all officers are more than willing to show their ID to members of the public and are happy for it to be checked out. The ID card itself bears a signature from the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

“I would ask anyone who recognises the image of the man in the e-fit or if anyone believes they have been a victim of this crime to contact police as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information should phone police on 0161 856 8742 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.