RHA calls for safer truck parking areas to tackle freight crime

The RHA is calling for more safe and secure lorry parking spaces to help reduce freight crime. The association said the industry needed thousands of parking spaces across the country as organised criminal gangs target high-value freight from lorries.

The Times reports that cigarettes, alcohol and clothing have been stolen from the backs of lorries as criminal networks target “specific lorries” and examine where they are likely to stop. Lorry drivers have been targeted after leaving distribution centres in Hampshire, Essex and Kent.

The RHA told them: “A key issue is the lack of safe and secure parking for lorry drivers. We estimate we need an additional 11,000 sites across the country. This would make it harder for organised criminal gangs to target lorries and give lorry drivers greater peace of mind when parked on the road overnight.”

Freight crime is a national problem, but the true scale of it is difficult to grasp because of the way it is recorded. That is why the RHA has called on Ministers to make freight crime a criminal offence and to devise appropriate penalties that reflect the seriousness of the crime.

Most cases of freight crime are recorded as ‘theft from a motor vehicle’. This means that theft of thousands of pounds worth of freight or fuel is recorded in the same way as a phone being stolen from a car.

Freight crime costs the UK around £250 million a year, with an estimated cost to the economy of £420 million by 2023. According to the National Freight and Cargo Crime Analysis Yearly Report, the number of reported HGV and freight crimes in 2023 was 5,373, although the actual figures are likely to be much higher. This has resulted in an estimated cost of £68 million in lost value from thefts alone, with the retail value likely to be much higher. The average loss per reported incident was £13,252.

The association has long called for reform of planning rules to make it easier for developers to build much-needed new facilities – something the new government has committed to doing. The RHA is also leading a new government taskforce on roadside facilities.

The Department for Transport and the Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service are analysing HGV-related crimes and targeting hotspots and crime patterns with existing car parks. Ministers have also pledged to create “high-quality, safe and secure facilities across the country” for HGV drivers and funding has been made available.