Don't be left bereft by the deft at theft
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A gigantic crime wave is sweeping through hire car fleets, and cruising on its crest are villains who hire and don't return. How to counter the menace? Mike Rutherford has been finding out
NE who, in the line of regularly attends conferor seminars will confirm ley are often tedious, unintive occasions. Not often t through such events and net the people around me 3 paying delegates — nely learn anything that an implement once they returned to work armed their set of conference S.
a of the rare occasions that feel delegates learned thing was during part of a t British Vehicle Rental and ag Association seminar at an's Royal Lancaster Hotel. an responsible for causing aterest was Bill Neill. His ct, security.
is chief security officer at National Rentals, which a fleet of more than 6,000 and cars. He served as an Ictor with the Royal Military a before transferring to the ial Investigation Branch, among other things has a senior Naafi investigator. ar the past few years he has ne daunting task of protect;wan National's 6,000-plus les and 90 depots.
er hearing Bill at the BVRLA !rence and having spoken m at length since then, I to say that I am only able to
on a fraction of what he o say. As he, himself, says: a me half a day to talk about acurity scene and I might be to scratch the surface a bit." 3 biggest security problem a National faces is that of :le theft.
es, theft principally," says "and people who hire :les and keep them without ag for them. There are proonal and casual thieves. The know how to steal and ase of vehicles whereas the dipping his toe can steal doesn't know how to ase."
ould fill the rest of this artilisting the numerous nods people use to steal and ase of vehicles, but I won't use, from what Bill Neill has me, thieves already have adds stacked in their favour. rint further instructions and advice on how to steal would defeat the object of this article.
If you had any doubts about the size of the stolen vehicle' market make a note of these figures: 350,000 were taken and driven away without the owners' consent in the year 1981-82. Most of them were used for joy riding but 79,000 were actually stolen. Of those only 29,000 were recovered, 50,000 being successfully" stolen.
"If as a very conservative estimate we apportion an average value of only £2,000 per unit," says Bill, "then we are looking at the highest single crime factor in Britain, worth annually £100m."
Obviously, most of these vehicles are cars rather than commercials. But with various light vans (up to 35cwt) in the Swan National fleet, I asked Bill whether commercial vehicle thefts present the same kind of problems as car thefts.
"To nothing like the same degree as with cars. Vans are big, awkward and heavy — not popular items for thieves."
But commercial vehicle owners should not be complace nt — particularly if their vehicles carry valuable loads. Bill Neill has some particular advice for operators who regularly park vehicles overnight at a depot or lorry park.
"Firstly, lock them, fit lockable petrol caps to them all and don't leave them loaded. And park the vehicles close together in rows — so close that thieves can't walk between them and tamper with them." Be warned though. Even if you do take Bill's advice and park vehicles close together to deter fuel thefts, for instance, determined thieves can still get to the fuel through the bottom of the tanks.
Lockable wheel clamps are a good investment and vehicle alarms are also well worth considering, reckons Bill. The market is saturated with various types of alarm systems of differing prices. Choose the one that suits your own particular requirements and circumstances and do not necessarily opt for the most expensive system.
Standard vehicle door locks are notoriously vulnerable so is it worth having additional locks fitted?
"You get what you pay for with locks. Expensive ones can be fitted but in my opinion you should forget about locks and go for alarms." (One of his reasons for saying that is simple. An additional door lock and key is worthless if a thief wants a vehicle badly enough and is prepared to smash, say, a quarter light in order to gain access to it.) When you consider that a large number of vehicles adopt false number plates once they have been stolen, it is a mystery to Bill Neill why vehicle registration numbers are not engraved on all windscreens, side windows and headlights.
If someone steals a vehicle, takes his chances and drives around with false plates, who is to know? If he does the same thing with a vehicle that has its real registration number clearly engraved on its glass, his style is going to be somewhat cramped.
So much for vehicle theft. What about vandalism — how easily can that be contained?
"It's almost impossible. There's very little hope," says Bill. "Vandals strike wherever the mood takes them, with neither rhyme nor reason. They're totally unpredictable and what's unpredictable cannot be catered for."
If you find you are a regular victim of vandalism you should, perhaps, think about employing a night watchman. If the cost deters you, you might kill two birds with one stone by taking. on a cleaner/watchman.
Obviously, the police are willing to help and advise individuals and companies with any type of security problem. But we have reached a point in our history when the protection of our property can no longer be left entirely to the police, reckons Bill Neill, who is the first to recognise the numerous problems the police face. People should take all the precautions they can to help them, he says.
Local crime prevention officers are worth getting to know when looking at your security arrangements, or lack of them as the case may be. The advice of the CPOs is free, too, says Bill.
"They know what they're on about. They're useful, intelligent men. Weigh up what they tell you."
When concentrating on the security of premises it is important not to get carried away with electronic gadgetry, says Bill. Too often, people consult companies who are merely cashing in on the security boom and are not qualified to do so.
"Buying security is an even bigger can of worms than buying double glazing. There's often overkill with electronic gadgetry. People should make an assessment and get the equipment necessary, not the equipment available. Don't accept carte blanche everything people say. They all want to sell you the best."
One of the things people fail to consider seriously with a sophisticated close-circuit television system, for instance, is the cost of the labour force needed to support it. If it is to be fully utilised it may need to be manned 24 hours a day — three men each working an eight-hour shift. As Bill Neill says, an expensive exercise.
There are also further disadvantages with CCTV. Although modern systems sound an alarm when something flashes across the TV monitor (useful if the security guard is asleep!), there are systems that are only as good — or bad — as the man watching it.
"How long could you look at a TV screen watching nothing — no moving picture and no music?" asks Bill. Good question.
Security officers do not always get the same kind of backing from senior management that Bill Neill enjoys at Swan National. But by taking on a security officer, management does not instantly cure its security problems — far from it. It is vitally important for everybody within a company to be security conscious, with management working hand in hand with its security staff.
For example, there are endless problems with the "agency fiddle", according to Bill.
"A good transport manager should keep tabs on his drivers. A driver can fill up with, say, 20 gallons and ask the cashier to put 30 gallons on the chit, then they split the difference."
The transport manager should know how much fuel his vehicles use and thereby eliminate the chances of foul play, says Bill.
Before attempting to protect your premises or vehicles with expensive equipment or manpower you will have to make a difficult decision whether or not the cost of protecting y property outweighs the cosi theft. It is pointless spend £10,000 to save, say, £3,000.
"Professional security offic are often ex-policemen and 11 have to weigh up the p against the cons. They're spending public money a more. It's a whole new chapte Whether you're toying the idea of investing in a secur system, security officer or, bet still, an improved security s up, bear Bill Neill's sound adv in mind.
"Thieves are looking for t soft option, they don't want challenge. If you're not the s option, you'll be OK."