' Hit the villain
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hardery—RIIA
BRITISH courts are too lenient when dealing with thieves who attack vehicle loads, according to the Road Haulage Association.
Speaking at the American National Cargo Security Conference in Chicago, RHA vehicle security committee chairman Jack Brown said thieves who refused to divulge the whereabouts of the loot or accomplices should get the total punishment that might have gone to all other members of a gang.
"Unavailability of stolen goods should add to the severity of the sentence and in order to test the accuracy of • the criminals' contention that there is honour among thieves, it might be sensible to condemn each tight-lipped villain who is convicted of thieving to the total punishment that would have been meted out to his confederates," he said.
He added that at least such a system would lead to better clearing up of particular crimes. Mr Brown added: "I would feel much happier if I was sure that careful consultations and investigations were always conducted before granting bail to persistent thieves.
"In the past, too many villains have used such parole time to continue working at the expense and sometimes to the danger of the long-suffering public," he said.
"It should always be remembered that the difference between an uncaught criminal and one who is out on bail is that the latter has more reason to be active and in a hurry — and that is bad news for the transport industry," said Mr Brown.
He warned that there were still many freight operators who conducted their operations in a "wholly irresponsible way" and who paid as little lip service to security as their insurers would allow them to get away with.