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Don't be a vidim!

8th December 2005
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Ne're approaching the

;eason of goodwill and

generosity — but that doesn't

lave to extend to thieves.

Louise Cole reports on

low to keep high-value :hristmas loads safe.

Do you know what your local criminals want for Christmas this year? Easy — a Playstation. Actually, not just one. As aany lorry-loads of them as they can get their ,ands on. But they'd he just as happy with cornutters, iPods, alcohol, food and all the other expensive goodies your drivers are delivering into town centres and RDCs amund the country.

In the run-up to the Christmas retail-fest, high-value loads are more vulnerable to theft than at any other time of year. And looking at TruckPol's quarterly truck theft report for July to September, that's dismal news indeed. Electronic goods, clothes, shoes, alcohol and household goods are always bait for organised gangs and opportunist thieves alike.

In just these three months, they got away with vehicles worth £5.7m and cargo worth £.14m. In July there was a 20% increase in the number of trucks stolen over the same month last year.The London area was hardest hit,with Kent. the West Midlands, and Essex close behind. Having said that, the TruckPol hotspot map looks like someone has shaken a fountain pen over the British Isles: a rash of dots cover the Midlands and North, only abating when you reach the Highlands, or the Welsh coast.

However alarming this appears, it doesn't tell the whole truth many people never report theft, and not all police forces report toTruckPol. meaning that the figures available to us underestimate the problem. Warehouse theft, for example, is currently recorded as a 'business theft' and is not associated with transport in the crime statistics. TruckPol is currently lobbying the Home Office on this, seeking a separate reporting code which will allow them access to meaningful figures.

Poor security such as keys left in the ignition provide obvious opportunistic targets, but there are far more disturbing trends.

Increasingly drivers are facing direct attacks from thieves: -We're up to 65 hijackings this year.These are planned,organised thefts which often involve much more force than necessary. The criminals are highly dangerous because they are prepared to take greater risks," says DC Mark Galliers of TruckPol.

Chrys Ram pley, security manager at the Road Haulage Association, highlights another unnerving trend: "There's almost always an element of collusion in planned thefts not necessarily from staff but from the families of staff. Inside knowledge is passed on by relatives or close friends who often have been blackmailed into giving information."

Need-to-know information

This means route and load information must be treated on a need-to-know basis. Not because you don't trust the people around you, but because you want to keep them safe.

It's crucial for operators to have clear rules for drivers and transport managers to follow. Remember, much of it is common sense and vigilance. Planning. discretion about routes, secrecy about loads, double and triple checking the credentials of anyone who wants to go near, let alone drive, one your trucksthese are the things that give you the best chance of a happy and theft-free Christmas.

Galliers concludes: "The golden rules are: plan journeys so you don't need to stop, and don't give valuable loads to someone you don't know. Vet your drivers properly." •

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Locations: London

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