Wave of thefts leads to renewed calls for safe truck parking areas

Reports of a recent series of thefts from supermarket lorries in the South East of England have prompted fresh calls from the Road Haulage Association (RHA) to improve the number of safe and secure lorry parking spaces in a bid to reduce freight crime.

Late last month it was reported that items including alcohol, cigarettes and clothing had been stolen from the backs of lorries leaving supermarket distribution centres in Essex, Hampshire and Kent. Some drivers were said to have been targeted up to eight times a day, prompting calls from the union for better security.

According to the Times According to the newspaper, the criminal networks involved targeted specific vehicles and were researching their delivery routes and possible stopping points.

According to the RHA, thousands of additional secure parking spaces are needed to stop organised crime targeting high-value cargo.

“We estimate we need another 11,000 (locations) across the country,” the association told the newspaper.

“This will make it harder for organised criminal gangs to attack trucks and give truck drivers more peace of mind when they are on the road at night.”

The RHA argues that the true national scale of freight crime is difficult to understand due to the authorities’ method of recording it. It has called on the government to introduce a specific freight crime offence, complete with “appropriate sentencing options” that would “reflect the seriousness” of such crime. This would contrast with the way such incidents are currently recorded: generally as ‘theft from a motor vehicle’, which would place theft of valuable cargo in the same category as personal property stolen from a passenger car.

In July, Ashton Cull, the RHA’s public affairs manager, said: BBC Breakfast: “It is remarkable that theft of perhaps millions of pounds worth of goods from the back of a lorry is recorded in many respects in the same way as an opportunistic theft of a bag from… a personal vehicle.

“It needs to become clearer; the impact needs to be visible.”

He added: “Freight crime is low risk, high reward for highly organised criminals. This happens every night in truck stops across the UK.”

He said NaVCIS, the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, “does fantastic work in really bringing this problem to light” – but added that it is currently mainly funded by industry, and called on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to provide more money for the “really important work”.

RHA policy leader James Barwise told BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the 5,300+ incidents of freight crime last year, in which £68m worth of goods were stolen, were not “victimless”, and highlighted the “huge impact on drivers and their mental health”. He said the RHA wanted to hear more from new Transport Secretary Louise Haigh about her support for the sector, and specifically about secure lorry parking.

“Without government help in planning reform, we will not get the safe facilities that drivers and businesses need to feel safe doing their jobs,” he warned.