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What's the hold-up?
Page 3
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What exactly does the Home Office not get about truck crime? How many reminders does it need as to the disruption, aggravation and cost to UK truck operators?
A fortnight ago, statistics from TruckPol the body created to help combat it showed that in 2008 truck crime rose by a whopping 83% to 4,171 incidents, and many in the industry reckon that's a conservative figure due to under-reporting. Yet here we are, at the start of another year, still not knowing if the national truck crime intelligence unit will even exist in three months' time.
We can't help but feel that those Home Office officials keeping everyone guessing as to TruckPas future must have very short memories. Only last September, after a leaked Home Office document warning of a rise in crime during the current economic downturn caused a media furore, the then HO minister, Tony McNulty, [quite sensibly in CMS opinion] described it as: "A statement of the blindingly obvious". A point he made, ironically, in a week CM reported a rash of diesel thefts... Sadly, McNulty has since moved on (twice) to other ministerial posts. More's the pity, because we could do with some straight-talking, rather than dithering.
Meanwhile, the problem of truck crime is not going away. And bearing in mind McNulty's remarks, the recession isn't getting any better, either. So don't hold your breath if you expect truck crime to suddenly drop. We can't believe that the Home Office has still to declare its interests with TruckPol or that it would let it wither on the vine. So why take so long to commit itself to funding? Every pound invested in TruckPol is not only money well spent, it's also an indication of how serious the Home Office takes an 'industry' [how else would you describe it] that
costs road transport [250m a year Unfortunately, the shilly-shallying suggests its still not getting the message.
Brian Weatherley