T HE fall in the number of thefts of, and from,
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commercial goods vehicles in the Metropolitan Police area in 1963 was not maintained in 1964. The number of cases and the value of goods stolen last year were back to the 1962 level. This was revealed in figures supplied to the Road Haulage Association by Scotland Yard,
There was a significant decline during 1964 in the type of theft known as "lorry dragging ", where the contents of a loaded vehicle are transferred to another
vehicle or to a warehouse within a comparatively short distance. It is thought that thieves are finding this type of crime less profitable than previously and are changing their methods.
One possible explanation may be found in the work of the first R.H.A. vehicle observer corps which has been operating in the London area for a considerable time. In 1964 observer corps members were called out on 753 occasions and recovered 27 vehicles, 12 of them with the load intact.