CRIMINALS
The key to protecting LCVs and their contents is for operators to stay one step ahead of the thieves, says Steve Banner
T
hieves never quit, and light commercials and their contents remain worryingly vulnerable
to theft. “It’s a massive problem,” says Suresh
Peri, head of commercial and technical at locking and access control specialist Mul-T-Lock. “No matter whether they are parked outside the owner’s house or in a car park, vans are often easy targets, and criminals are getting more creative by the day.” Says Laura Moran, managing director of vehicle security business TVL Group: “Thieves are constantly trialling new methods of illegal access.”
Better physical security can help to keep them at bay, says Daniel Clark, a van insurance expert at broker Adrian Flux: “Additional security devices above and beyond anything that’s factory-fitted can certainly help, and that includes mechanical locks as well as alarms and immobilisers.
Adrian Flux won the 2024 What Van?
Van Insurer of the Year award. Mul-T-Lock can provide a locking system which Peri says is suitable for almost any type of van door. The MVP1000 comes with a push-to-lock mechanism housed in an aluminium body so that a busy driver can secure the door on which it is mounted without having to hunt around for a key. The big advantage of the surface- mounted MVP1000 and its heavier-duty MVP2000 stablemate is that a trades person – an electrician or a plumber, say – can install them without having to call in a locksmith. “If you’re fitting an MVP1000 then the entire exercise should take no more than seven to ten minutes,” he says. Installing the heftier MVP2000 will take a little longer.
Fit these locks to a van’s rear and sliding side doors and the same key can be used to unlock all of them, says Peri. Additional keys are available, but solely from Mul-T-Lock dealers. Managers can be issued with a master key which can be used to unlock
@whatvan Light commercial vehicles remain vulnerable to theft but external locks can deter attempted break ins
all the doors secured with MVP1000/ MVP2000 throughout a van fleet. Though effective, MVP1000 and MVP2000 are not overly-expensive, says Peri.
“The recommended retail prices are £85 for the former, and £135 for the latter,” he says. “We know of some operators who are so concerned about security that they have fitted two of our locking systems to each of the load area doors on their vehicles.”
Both MVP1000 and MVP2000 have a clear and obvious presence on the doors to which they are fitted. Recently the subject of a management buy-out, Locks 4 Vans is finding that there is growing interest in what it describes as its statement locks; locks that stand out on the exterior of a vehicle’s door and act as a visual deterrent to thieves.
“Demand for our L4V Statement Lock has more than doubled year-on- year, with the Diamond Statement Lock
and its anti-drilling and anti-cutting properties taking centre stage,” says marketing manager, Sam Woollard. The company has been promoting its electronic slam-lock, which automatically secures a van’s door when it is slammed shut. Nor are the roller- shutter doors often fitted to box and Luton bodies being ignored, with both slam-locks and deadlocks figuring in the firm’s product portfolio.
Other measures to enhance physical security can be taken alongside the installation of locks.
More and more customers are requesting rear window guards, Locks 4 Vans reports. Several vans have come onto the market in recent times with glazed hatch-type back doors; and glass can be shattered.
Install a guard and a criminal will be unable to reach into the vehicle’s cargo bay and steal items even if he succeeds in smashing the door’s glazing. While there is always the risk that
alarms will be ignored or treated as a nuisance, they are still worth considering. Locks 4 Vans is now offering a separate alarm for pick-up hardtops which are not always wired into the rest of the truck.
Locks and their attendant technology are steadily becoming more sophisticated. TVL’s Protect+ package includes so-called floating anti-drill pins installed inside the lock’s cylinder aimed at preventing thieves from picking the lock. Anti-drill plates are provided to defend the lock’s mechanism against being attacked or manipulated from the vehicle’s exterior.
The locks come with a patented high-security dimple key designed to prevent illegitimate copies from being made.
Replacement keys are only available directly from TVL and will only be issued once requests are validated using the Police National Computer (PNC) and
May 2024 WhatVan? 19
VAN LOVING
Focus On Security and Insurance
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