DeterTech leads drive to secure truck parking
With theft from unattended HGVs rising and costing the industry more than £400m a year, security specialist DeterTech is encouraging providers of overnight parking facilities to consider additional temporary or semi-permanent security measures for overspill parking zones.
“Part two of the Department for Transport’s National Survey of Lorry Parking was published in June of this year,” said Simon Baugh of DeterTech.
“It lays bare the lack of secure parking facilities for commercial vehicles on key routes. The number of vehicles requiring safe and secure overnight parking exceeded capacity for 11 of the past 12 months.
“Government commitments to incentivise public and private investment in new dedicated facilities is of course welcomed. However, it will take many years to create the 11,000 additional secure spaces that the Road Haulage Association estimates the UK needs. Even then, there will be busy periods when overspill areas must be used.”
Such locations prove attractive targets for organised crime gangs on the hunt for fuel, goods or other easily removed vehicle components, says Simon – all of which can have high resale value and prove difficult for police to trace.
“The challenge for facility and transport operators is to play their part in deterring criminals and in giving police the best opportunity to locate stolen property and pursue a conviction should an incident occur,” he continued.
Working with the police and industry, DeterTech is providing a range of services designed to stop those who prey on the commercial vehicle industry.
Firstly, its Crime Intelligence function is operating a national intelligence portal, tracking organised crime gangs across the UK. It is helping police to better target resources and alerting facility operators to the most at-risk locations where additional security measures may be required.
Secondly, says Simon, its Site Security arm is making temporary state-of-the-art intruder detection an affordable reality. Available on a short-term rental basis, it brings 24/7 visually verified surveillance to locations not covered by permanent security infrastructure.
Finally, DeterTech’s SmartWater forensic marking technology and associated signage retains a 100 per cent conviction rate in contested court cases.
“The overall ambition is to create a layered system of protection that leads criminals to accept the risk to reward of stealing from overspill parking zones is too high,” concluded Simon.
“Working together we can bring peace of mind to drivers and reverse the concerning rise in thefts from HGVs.”
