Government tests freight-crime tracking system

A project initiated by the Freight Safe Programme and delivered by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has led to the emergence of a new service, designed to help inform rail freight operators of emerging risks.

The government has begun a pilot that will allow police to tag offences as “freight-crime” in national systems, as announced by Rachel Taylor MP on 25 November – who is campaigning on the issue.

Rachel Taylor is the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Freight and Logistics.

Until now, thefts from lorries and cargo were classed simply as “theft from a vehicle,” limiting visibility of organised freight offences and making resource allocation harder.

Taylor welcomed the move as a “significant step forward,” while continuing to push for a crime code for freight offences, better security at truck stops, and a national policing strategy to tackle organised cargo theft across the country.

Logistics UK has been working with Rachel Taylor to highlight this issue and the policy changes required to tackle it. As part of this work, the business group hosted a roundtable in September where members joined the MP and National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) to discuss working together to tackle the issue.

To help address the problem, Logistics UK has called for a specific freight crime code to Ministers and held roundtable events, and engagement with Transport Focus, Motorway Buddy and TAPA to raise awareness.

Logistics UK’s Head of Road Freight and English Regions Policy, Maddi Solloway-Price said: “Freight crime is seen as a low risk, high reward crime by organised criminal gangs who target the logistics industry. This new pilot is a positive step in the right direction.

“We need to continue our calls for a specific Home Office crime code for freight crime to provide a true deterrent and ensure that sentencing guidelines reflect the serious nature of these crimes.”