Policy & Compliance
APPG proposes measures to halt the rising level of roadfreight crime
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics recently produced a report focusing on road cargo crime. It gives a good indication of the escalating level of freight crime and the negative impact this is having
T he movement of cargo has always proven attractive to those intent on criminal activity. The original West India Dock in London was built in order to reduce theft and not so long ago Heathrow was regularly referred to as ‘Thief Row’. Now crime takes many different forms, as we highlighted in recent articles about the Mango Scam (see BIFAlink December 2024 pages 16-17 and January 2025 pages 14-15). In this article we return to a more traditional form of crime which increasingly focuses on goods at their most vulnerable – theft from a vehicle. Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Freight and Logistics produced a report on cargo crime focusing on road. The report gives a good indicator of the level of freight crime and the negative impact it is having. One problem is that this is an under-reported crime, with many victims deciding against reporting it. There is a lack of faith that police will investigate, and many Members advise that they are simply given a crime reference number and no further investigative action is taken. The fact that the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service Freight crime extent Recently, the All-Party (NAVCIS) has to be funded via business subscription is indicative of the lack of central funding. Whilst critical of the UK situation, we note that the same problems are reported in other jurisdictions including the USA and Europe. In 2023 there were 5,370 reported
incidents of HGV and cargo crime in the UK, a 5% increase on 2022. The APPG report highlights that the
reporting of such thefts. The APPG in its report made the following recommendations to government: • Endorse and support secure parking standards. There need to be “coordinated standards” to create a situation where drivers can pull into any truck stop knowing they will be safe. • Reform the National Planning Policy Framework so that it reflects the needs of the haulage sector. Any reforms to the planning system must reflect the critical nature of the supply chain. • Launch a national parking programme to counteract the national shortage of lorry parking. • Increase police resources with a view to improving their investigative capability and enforce the law. • Launch a national freight awareness campaign. In short, the thinking appears to be to make crime more difficult to commit, which will improve driver safety and then increase the likelihood of criminals being caught and successfully prosecuted. To find out more about the APPG Freight and Logistics, visit https://freightandlogisticsappg.org where the full ‘Securing our Supply Chains’ report is available.
direct loss of stolen goods amounted to £68.3million. However, this is only the
wholesale cost of these goods. NAVCIS estimates that the true cost is about 10 times greater, being between £680 million and £700 million. Low priority It is highlighted that the police are under-resourced to deal with such crimes, although Member feedback is that too many forces regard it as a victimless crime, and thus a low priority. The lack of enforcement activity is discouraging the
“ In 2023 there were 5,370 reported incidents of HGV and cargo crime in the UK, a 5% increase on 2022. The APPG report highlights that the direct loss of stolen goods amounted to £68.3 million
www.bifa.org
February 2025 | 19
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker