Insider


Cable theft is costing the railways more than £20m a year. And some of the thefts are inside jobs, as Paul Clifton explains


the House of Commons Transport Committee that most cases were random, and there was evidence that insiders were responsible for some of the crimes. She said current and former employees as well as contractors had been identified as culprits. ‘There is evidence that there is inside knowledge,’ she said. ‘There


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have been arrests and prosecutions of Network Rail staff.’ She added that because staff knew where engineering work was


taking place, it was like ‘taking sweets from a sweet shop’. In a report submitted by British Transport Police, MPs heard that


‘they utilise their positions to access vulnerable material – at locations where engineering work is in progress, often using legitimate vehicles


s many as eight cases of cable theft are happening on the railways every day, according to Network Rail. Dyan Crowther, director of operational services, said the crime had cost £43m over the last two years in repair costs and compensation payments to train operators. She told MPs on


stealing


which would not look out of place’. In other cases those with inside knowledge sell their information to others, telling them where cable is kept or has been recently installed. Dyan Crowther told the MPs that the problem of cable theft had


first surfaced in the north east of England but had migrated steadily across the country. While many cases took place at night, thefts were now regularly happening in peak time. Although there were ‘hotspots’ there are no clear patterns to the thefts. ‘It is quite difficult to predict and makes a response very difficult,’ she said. She told the inquiry at Westminster that measures being taken


included increase use of surveillance, reinforcing railway sleepers and spraying sites with traceable liquids. British Transport Police said it had 110 officers working on


the problem, and that it was aware the thefts were having a ‘very significant’ effect on communities and businesses. There was a clear correlation between the price of copper on commodity markets and rates of crime, suggesting cable theft was largely the work of professional criminals. Deputy chief constable Paul Crowther said: ‘We have Steptoe and Son style legislation at the moment and this has not kept pace with current methods. ‘When you go to scrap metal dealers, you give your name and


address and there are no means of knowing if the information is true. We have a risk and reward balance which is in favour of the criminal.’ He said the legislation for dealing with it dates back to 1964, was outdated and needed rewriting.


PAGE 26 DECEMBER 2011


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