12 UK MOTORWAY SERVICE AREAS


The creation of the East Midlands Freight Crime Task Force, led by the Northamptonshire force, is part of a new drive to educate lorry drivers passing through the region about the dangers of thefts.


‘As part of our campaign we have a new trailer which is covered in a number of crime prevention messages in English, Polish and Romanian. These are the top three nationalities of drivers to be targeted by criminals in Northamptonshire. The trailer will be moved to different locations across the county in a bid to reach as many lorry drivers as possible.’


Of course, motorway service operators are well within their rights to ask what transport companies are doing themselves to protect their drivers, vehicles and customers’ cargoes. This will obviously differ from company to company. Some TAPA members, for example, simply do not use service areas with a high level of recorded cargo crime and will plan their journeys accordingly to avoid them. Others will reinforce basic advice of parking in well lit areas and stopping where there are other vehicles.


What though can be expected of drivers who are in their trucks while an attack is taking place or that realise there has been a crime after the offenders have left the scene. Many will be expected to follow strict company


guidelines for incident reporting but for those in any doubt, call 999 to alert the police. The RHA also advises drivers to contact the service station manager to report the incident.


Even if no products have been stolen, if tarpaulins have been cut or truck locks tampered with, it is just as important to report this as an ‘attempted theft’. This is vital intelligence for the police in terms of showing them when and where cargo thieves are active.


The police, however, are not simply reacting to cargo thefts, they are leading the public- private collaboration to make it safer to park trucks at motorway services and to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice, not least through the creation of the East Midlands Freight Crime Task Force, led by the Northamptonshire force.


It has recently launched a new drive to educate lorry drivers passing through Northamptonshire about the dangers of thefts, recognising that ‘Northamptonshire’s place on the UK’s strategic road network means thousands of lorries pass through the county every day and organised criminals use this as an opportunity to steal.’


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24