MPs debate freight crime in parliament

Members of parliament held an in-depth discussion on the subject of freight crime in a Westminster Hall debate last week, with a focus on reducing the financial and personal burdens that criminality was placing on the haulage sector and its employees.

Rachel Taylor MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for freight and logistics, used the debate to call for a coordinated national freight crime strategy, which would entail increased resources for police, improvements in training, and a national campaign of awareness. In addition, the need for more safe and secure truck parking facilities was emphasised.

Speaking in the debate, Ms Taylor said it had become apparent in dialogue with the Road Haulage Association (RHA), its members and other logistics workers that their primary concerns were fuel duty and freight crime.

“Now that we have encouraged growth through the freeze on fuel duty, it is time to take freight crime seriously,” she said.

“For too long, freight crime has been seen as an opportunistic crime, carried out by individuals who fancy their luck stealing some stuff from the back of a lorry. That could not be further from the truth. The Home Office must understand that freight crime has become a serious and organised crime, often involving violence and threats.”

She emphasised the road freight sector’s role in moving 89 per cent of all goods, and 98 per cent of all agricultural and food products.

“ In total, the road haulage industry contributes £13.5 billion to the economy, which is 5.6 per cent of the UK’s total GDP. Crucially, freight is an economic multiplier. Every £1 generated by the logistics industry generates £3 elsewhere in the economy.”

Ms Taylor highlighted her recent launch of the ‘Securing Our Supply Chains’ report, and its recommendations.

She told MPs: “The report lays bare the stark issues affecting one of Britain’s most vital industries, in which 90 per cent of businesses are small or medium-sized enterprises.

“It also makes it clear that the police do not feel adequately equipped to tackle freight crime. Such crime is not opportunistic; it is serious organised crime and that is why freight criminals target service stations, which have become freight crime hotspots.

“The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service has identified several service stations that are repeatedly targeted by freight criminals, including Corley services on the M6 in my constituency. In 2023 alone, Corley services experienced 76 offences of freight crime.

“Other crime hotspots include Stafford, which had 138 offences; Thurrock, which had 103 offences; and Warwick services, which experienced 87 offences. It is clear to me, as it should be to all members present, that that means criminals have organised effectively to target certain service stations repeatedly. “

Ms Taylor asked the government’s security minister Dan Jarvis, who attended the debate, to commit to working with the Department for Transport to improve service station security for lorry drivers, and invited him to visit Corley services to hear drivers’ testimony first-hand.

“Freight crime often involves criminals slashing a lorry’s curtains to gain access to its goods or siphoning fuel from tanks while drivers are parked to commit fuel theft,” she said.

“Cyber criminals are now cloning the websites of legitimate hauliers and tricking sellers into letting them drive away with valuables. Yet, in law, freight thefts are treated with the same seriousness as someone smashing a car window and stealing a phone from the passenger seat. That must change; we need a co-ordinated policing and enforcement strategy.”

To highlight the impact of freight crime on an industry made up largely of SMEs, she cited the example of LTS Global Solutions, whose managing director Dave Hands had introduced her to the industry while she was standing for election.

“Since March, his company alone has experienced six fuel theft incidents,” she said.

“Each theft has a significant impact on his operation and customers. LTS loses a day of deliveries, and then must replace the stolen fuel, pay a call-out fee to repair the vehicle, and supply fuel to get the vehicle to the nearest garage.

“Dave says that in a sector that operates on a two to four per cent net profit margin, such incidents not only cause LTS to lose money but put their customer relations at risk.”

Ms Taylor also gave the example of Direct Connect Logistics and its managing director Rhys Hackling.

“In January 2022, he had a truck attacked by thieves who stole pallets of batteries. The company lost all the revenue from the truck for three days while the inquiry went on and the truck was repaired. Even worse, Rhys says that Direct Connect Logistics has lost drivers due to the damage to their mental wellbeing, as the cutting of the lorry curtain is a direct attack on them.

“The RHA detailed to me how curtain slashing can take place even when a vehicle is in transit. Freight criminals will pull up behind or to the side of the cab, slash the curtains, steal goods and put other drivers on the road in danger. Rhys says that many of his drivers remain committed but they do not sleep properly at night due to the threat of being targeted.”

Ms Taylor further highlighted the concerns of Hollie Middleton, a transport manager from WOW Logistics & Warehousing, one of a handful of female-run logistics firms in the country.

“Hollie… echoes Rhys’s sentiments and says that she feels disheartened when she works hard but cannot sleep in case something happens. In one particularly shocking incident, two men scouted Hollie’s building and then attempted to steal some boxes. When she told them to get off the estate, they threatened her and told her they would beat her up.

“The industry struggles with encouraging women to become drivers, and I am sure the minister will agree that freight crime poses a particular issue to female-led businesses such as WOW.”

Reiterating the need for increased support and resources for law enforcement, Ms Taylor also called for the launch of a national freight crime awareness campaign and for the reform of the national planning policy framework to better consider hauliers’ needs.

“Sadly, the freight workers I have spoken to say that it feels futile to report incidents because they know that there is not much that the police can do,” she said.

“If this government are to take back our streets, they must ensure that crimes committed on our roads, in lay-bys and at service stations are prosecuted.”

She warned that the police lacked a national strategy to deal with the problem, and that the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, NaVCIS, was under-supported and underfunded.

“It has a clear mission to bring industry and policing together to disrupt criminals and reduce crime, but it does not receive any funds from central government or the police service for any of its areas of business.

“Instead, the national freight crime desk is supported by four sponsors from the freight industry and 62 members, who pay an annual subscription for freight crime data.

“NaVCIS currently has one full-time service police officer on secondment, a part-time analyst and a part-time data inputter. That places it in a financially precarious position and does not facilitate co-operation between NaVCIS and UK policing. It is clearly not enough to tackle organised crime on a national scale.”

She explained that NaVCIS had identified that 38 criminal hotspots, and the main arterial roads close to the biggest ports, were the targets of the vast majority of freight crime, and asked the security minister to commit to the deployment of more resources there.

“A well-executed, targeted approach in those locations could result in a massive reduction in crime for relatively little police resource…

“It is outrageous that the drivers who deliver Christmas to families across the UK cannot do so without feeling physically at risk.”

Ms Taylor further warned that the thousands of instances of freight crime each year put the mental health of the road haulage workforce at risk.

“We need greater public awareness, especially to ward people off buying stolen goods through social media pages and websites around Christmas. It is crucial to create a hostile environment for criminals to keep our drivers safe.”

Responding for the government, security minister Dan Jarvis acknowledged how damaging and distressing freight crime could be and its detrimental effect on businesses and individuals. Accepting that rates had risen, he said the government would work with partners, including the police, “to mount the most effective response possible”.

“We have provided the police with additional funding this financial year to help to tackle the export of stolen vehicles, supporting enforcement at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including through the deployment of additional staff and specialist equipment to the ports,” said Mr Jarvis.

“We will also bring forward legislation to ban electronic devices that have been used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them.”

He said that the policing minister Diana Johnson had recently met with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, assistant chief constable Jenny Sims, to discuss the issues that had been raised.

“Led by ACC Sims, the national vehicle crime working group is raising awareness of crime against road haulage companies within the national police vehicle crime response. We look forward to working closely with the RHA as part of that group,” he added.

“In support of the working group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales. It will help to share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime so that we can better seek to tackle regional issues…

“As part of its remit, NaVCIS is working with the government; we are together taking forward a project to analyse heavy goods vehicle-related crime in England, with a specific focus on identifying crime patterns at HGV parking sites.

“The government are determined that all lorry drivers should have access to high-quality, safe and secure facilities right across the country, which is why we have invested in improved lorry parks and safer rest areas.”

Mr Jarvis said that he would extend the invitation by Ms Taylor to attend Corley services to the policing minister.

“An industry-led task and finish group on HGV facilities will complete its work in January,” he continued.

“It is focusing on increasing capacity for safe and secure parking, and driving the industry’s adoption of existing HGV parking standards…

“With industry, the government and National Highways are investing in improved welfare facilities, security upgrades and more HGV parking spaces at lorry parks and truck stops across England…

“The government are prioritising improvements to the planning system… New language on freight and logistics in the recent consultation on the national planning policy framework recognises the importance of considering freight in planning, and I thank the sector for taking the time to respond to the consultation.”

Mr Jarvis added that a further investment of £58 million in the National Crime Agency would “make a real difference, including through the strengthening of data analysis and intelligence capabilities”. He pledged that the government would work to establish a new national centre of policing to bring together support services that could be drawn upon by local forces.

He concluded: “Freight crime is a serious threat and must be dealt with as such. This government are committed to tackling criminality of any kind, which is why we have made it our mission to deliver safer streets for all and restore neighbourhood policing. Reducing freight crime is integral to that mission.”

Commenting after the debate, Ashton Cull, RHA senior public affairs manager, said: “I’d like to thank Rachel Taylor MP for securing and leading this debate in parliament. Freight crime is a growing problem in our industry which is putting lorry drivers at increased risk and destroying businesses.

“Organised crime gangs see trucks as lucrative and easy targets so it’s vital that industry and parliament continues to work together on tackling the issue.

“We need more safe and secure parking for lorry drivers which would help deter gangs from targeting them for their loads and fuel. We’re also calling for new planning reforms to consider the needs of hauliers, and for police to have the resources they need to tackle criminal gangs.”