FIGHTING BACK
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iii "I feel so bitter about the people who've taken the vehicle. They've got into my property and stolen it... its taken years to work up to it and they've just taken it."
Everyone involved with road haulage will sympathise with the Norfolk-based operator featured in this week's headline story. For most hauliers a truck is more than just a piece of metal — it's a symbol of years of hard work. So when a thief comes along and steals it, it's like losing a relative.
So why doesn't truck theft get the attention it desperately needs? Obviously it is being swallowed up in a tide of automobile crime, and until the police start breaking it down on a nationwide basis we can only guess how much damage it is doing to hard-pressed operators. But we do know that truck theft has become a multi-million-pound growth industry, attracting professional thieves who steal to order and ship the trucks out to countries where nobody asks too many questions, or simply strip them for parts and flog the bits to people who are as bent as their "suppliers".
local initiatives are certainly welcome but what we're facing is a nationwide epidemic. Nothing short of a nationwide enforcement effort has any chance of putting the truck thieves out of business once and for all.
Meanwhile, the haulage industry is left to foot the bill with replacement vehicles, increased insurance premiums, soaring security costs, lost business — and plenty of heartache.
Amid the gloom, however, CM's Crimeline has at least tracked down one stolen tractor. So if you have become a victim let us know — we can't guarantee to recover your vehicle, but we can spread the word and make sure the villains are wary of using and disposing of their ill-gotten gains.