Fighting Freight Crime

Freight crime is a huge problem in the UK, costing the economy up to £1 billion per year. Unfortunately, as the average loss of each incident totals over £25,000,1 the reward for such haulage far outweighs the risk of detection and prosecution for many criminals.2

The Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service’s (AVCIS) TruckPol division, assists the Home Office and Association of Chief Police Officers, sharing information on national road freight crime in order to deliver solutions, minimise opportunities for criminals and reduce offences. The theft of large goods vehicles and their loads cause significant economic and logistical harm to manufacturers, operators and retailers alike.

In order to reduce freight crime, AVCIS is working in strategic partnership with Cobra UK, European market leader in vehicle tracking systems. Utilising its new capture vehicle technology, Cobra UK is providing AVCIS with a bespoke tracking system for its sting-trailer, to give police the upper-hand in catching thieves in the act.

The custom-built system provides an efficient deterrent in the fight against would-be freight thieves, combining state-of-the-art proactive vehicle tracking and web-monitoring technology. The system features covert daytime and night-time cameras, as well as automatic intrusion alerts, sent to 3G mobile telephones; providing forces with the opportunity to make arrests with admissible video footage and supporting journey history, that can be used as evidence in court.

“Freight theft is an extremely costly problem,” says Detective Chief Inspector Paul Lambotte, AVCIS’ Head of Unit. “The crimes are organised, increasingly violent and market-driven. Professional criminals are happy to travel the length and breadth of the country to target vehicles and their loads.

“Cobra UK’s capture vehicle technology will not only enable us to catch thieves red-handed, but will act as a deterrent, making criminals think twice before committing an offence. We are confident that systems such as this will help in the fight against freight crime.”

Andrew Smith, Managing Director of Cobra UK, stated: “Cobra has been at the forefront of protecting vehicles and their contents with highly innovative products across Europe for 25 years. We are delighted to be extending our relationship with AVCIS into its TruckPol division; utilising our technology to develop a bespoke system for the sting-trailer, which will ultimately deter criminals to target businesses and drive down road freight crime.”

www.acpo.police.uk