Home Office pulls plug on TruckPol
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THE HOME OFFICE has axed funding for TruckPol, leaving the freight crime fighting unit to rely on private sponsors to survive.
TruckPol will no longer receive funding of a minimum of £50,000 a year after its parent, the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (Avcis), was told it will not receive Home Office funding from 1 April.
The funding cut comes at a time when truck crime is hitting the haulage industry hard. Last year, there was a 59% hike in the number of lorry thefts. TruckPol head DC Sue Coutts says the unit has enough private capital to survive for at least 12 months but more money will be needed if it wants to continue fighting freight crime from April 2012.
“Revenue raised from our private sector sponsors and EU project money continues to provide enough funding for TruckPol to continue. We are not losing any staff in the unit and, if anything, the unit is working well. Obviously though, now, more than ever, we need more sponsors.” An Avcis spokesman says: “We are disappointed with the Home Office’s decision, particularly in light of our recent successes.
“But we recognise that these are economically difficult times.”