Register trailers to combat crime
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• by Robin Meczes Fresh calls have been made for a trailer registration system to help combat the thefts which are costing the UK industry more than .£100m a year. The exact extent of trailer theft is hard to pin down, but DC Roland Thomas of the Metropolitan Police Serious & Organised Crime Group Intelligence Unit says a 1988 estimate of the annual cost to the industry of £52m could be at least doubled today.
"In a five-month period during one operation we identified 114 trailers reported as stolen; only 19 were on the police national computer [on which the previous estimate was based]," he says.
Speaking at a recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) seminar, Thomas referred to a "black hole of ignorance" about trailer types: "From the police perspective, the main problem is identifying vehicles. There are approximately 250,000 trailers in circulation in the UK today but we have no accurate figures because of the lack of a registration system." He suggests that trailer manufacturers should adopt a standard 17-digit identification number stamped on the chassis with manufacturers' plates in locked boxes. "All you have to do is put in the mind of the criminal element that there is a hurdle to them," says Thomas. "It's a deterrent to move them on to a new commodity". He adds that registering a trailer should not cost any more than registering a car.
However, any moves towards introducing a formal registration system could meet opposition from hauliers fearing that it would lead to increased operating costs and bureaucracy.
I The most popular targets for thieve targeting trailers remain 13.6m triaxl reefers and curtainsiders.