Freight crime in focus: Exclusive interview with Rachel Taylor MP

In an exclusive interview for Logistics Magazine, Rachel Taylor, MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, talks about the experiences of her constituents working in the freight sector, and how she is spearheading the campaign for change.

Welcome to Logistics Magazine, Rachel, can you tell us how did your involvement in freight crime campaigning come about?                          

“My constituency is the heart of the freight logistics sector in the UK and I discovered that 20% of my constituents were employed in that industry, so when I came into Parliament I really had to advocate for the sector.  

“I became the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freight and Logistics. We looked at two main areas of work for the first year: one was around freight crime and the other focused on driver welfare. The two things really tie in together.  

“When I go to a freight operator and look around their yard it's very rare for me to be able to see a single vehicle that hasn't had its curtains slashed at least once. You know, sometimes they're small cuts, sometimes much bigger, and if you talk to drivers, they tell you that it's a constant threat if they are staying overnight with goods in their vehicles.  

“The other issue for our area, because of where we’re situated, a lot of the drivers’ journeys can be done in a day, so they don’t necessarily have to stay overnight with the goods in the back of the vehicle. But what we also have are central pinch points for stopping. You’ve got Corley Services which is one of the central hot spots for freight crime. 

“In my constituency, Warwickshire Police have won awards for how they're dealing with freight crime, but you actually look at the facilities that Welcome Break have put in place and they're just not adequate. You look at the Park Mark Freight requirements (a new assessment specifically for lorry parks and truck stops, developed in response to the rise in cargo theft in recent years, and the Department for Transport's policies for improving roadside facilities for drivers) and they're nowhere near achieving that. They don't have barriers, they don't have adequate perimeter fences and lighting isn't good enough. They don't necessarily have CCTV.  

“So really a driver with a load staying overnight is just a target for what is effectively organised crime. I mean I thought initially this is just going to be opportunistic, some criminals that come along and they might take one or two boxes out of the back of a lorry. It's not. They're taking whole loads and they know that it's going to be iPhones in that particular van at that particular time, in that location.  

“There's an amount of intelligence that they gather and then they target certain routes. We heard recently of an incident on the M6 where the cargo was alcohol, so it might be coming from whisky distilleries in Scotland. Or there might be a whole load of gaming consoles, or the new iPhones are out. They become targets. 

“These products are easy to disperse and the criminals can have lots of people selling these stolen goods. The cost to the small hauliers is massively significant. They operate on tiny profit margins and then they've got drivers leaving because they say they don't want this hassle anymore.  

“The drivers’ wives are saying “you’re 59, you need to retire” and that kind of person is being held at knifepoint or at gunpoint by criminals. They're obviously going protect their life. And then of course, as a company, if you’re targeted once or twice you're then concerned about your reputation and whether you'll be asked to continue to transport those goods. 

“That’s the fear for some of the smaller companies; they are reluctant to highlight it because they don't want to be seen as a risky operator.” 

What are the police advising people do and don't do?  

“One of the things that we all see is vehicles are parked with their curtains open when they're empty. But of course, as soon as you do that, a vehicle that doesn’t have its curtain open would clearly be one that's got something in so that really doesn't help.  

“The police are never going to tell you to confront somebody with a knife. The issue the police have is they find it difficult when the phone call is made to then necessarily do the right things because there isn't that separate crime code.  

“Somebody on the end of the phone might think that they're dealing with something being taken from a car on someone's driveway or, someone’s handbag has been taken from the front of the car. But actually, it's a massively different issue and if there was a different crime code there would be different questions from the get-go, and there would be somebody at the crime scene much more quickly.”  

You're actively campaigning for a new crime code. How is that being received?  

“Across the industry it's widely supported. It's also supported by the local police forces that you speak to. They say that would make their life much easier. NaVCIS, which collects the data at the moment, it wants to see that separate crime code.  

“I think there's always a reluctance on the part of government to change anything. Civil servants never want anything to change either, they just want an easy life. So, they're thinking of whether things could be flagged instead. But I think that's not going to quite solve the problem, so we're going to keep campaigning for that separate crime code. It can be introduced in April, but it's very rare to introduce a new crime code, so this is a big thing. 

“It doesn't actually need primary legislation, it's something that could quite easily be done and could really help the industry.”  

So what are your key asks of the government?  

“What we want to see is the introduction of national freight crime strategy. We want to see funding for NaVCIS because it’s severely underfunded at the moment. The introduction of a freight crime code, and investment for proper security standards so that drivers can park without fear.  

“So, there's already something in existence with Park Mark Freight and we want that to be mandatory in all parking facilities.”  

Are the operators themselves supportive?  

“Absolutely. I'm an MP from the government party which, you know, businesses don’t always welcome you with open arms, they want to talk to you about issues such as the National Insurance changes etc. But if I go to a freight or haulage business I’m just welcomed with open arms and thanked for everything I've been doing on this topic. I'm quite surprised how much it means to them. 

“Haulage companies are quite rightly very protective about their brand. They like their insignia on their on their lorries, and of course they're getting those slashed and they end up with little patches of plaster all over it and it damages the brand. So the efforts we are making really mean something to them.” 

What does the next 12 months look like? 

“Crime codes are changed in April so we've got to have a big push now so that we can be ready to introduce that new crime code then. We've got the second reading of my bill coming up in the autumn and then going on from that – it doesn't need that legislation – but I think it's all about getting that head of steam for a campaign.  

“So, we're saying to haulage companies please sign a letter, write to Diana Johnson, the Police and Crime Minister, and say this is something that you want to see. We've also got the Budget coming up and we want to see some investment in safer parking, and I think hopefully we will get that. Those are really my hopes for the next few months.”