theft
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
theft. "It is nonsense for the police to be running something when we are not compatible with each other," he says. He hopes that other forces will be encouraged to copy Essex.
The key to the scheme's success will be fast passing-on of information between hauliers and drivers. Staff at each participating company will have to be briefed on what to do, says Wilkinson. He hopes hauliers who take part will display a logo on their trucks.
Some Yllm worth of trucks and loads have been stolen in Essex this year, including one Containing plant worth 120,000. Only £6m has been recovered. Most of it goes abroad, often to the Middle East, although lack of communication among forces means police do not know the exact percentage.
Hauliers at the meeting welcomed the proposal, but one was worried that offering drivers rewards might distract them and cause accidents.
The hauliers have formed a committee to launeh the scheme. It includes the Road Haulage Association's Eastern district manager Chris Wright, who helped arrange the meeting, and a representative of the Freight Transport Association.
Wright is confident that a scheme involving RHA members can get off the ground despite apparent apathy which is largely due to the light sent ences given to truck thieves by courts, he says.
One of the committee's tasks will be to decide the best format for the scheme. West Midlands Truckwatch uses Royal Mail Parcels as its lead company and it is responsible for contacting other members.
Other counties which have set up truck theft schemes in the past include Suffolk and Leicestershire which !:ses a fax ring with six operators. Essex has been running what it calls a vehicle observance corps since 1956, but it has had a limited effect.