Recorded freight crime may not reflect reality, says TruckPol

TruckPol has admitted that a 21% drop in the number of recorded truck crimes in 2009 does not actually mean crime rates are falling in real terms.

Roadtransport.com can reveal that last year there were 3,288 recorded freight crimes, compared with 4,171 in 2008, while the number of thefts from vehicles rose 5% to 1,081.

However, in 2009, TruckPol axed the recording of fuel thefts under 1,000 litres, which previously accounted for a large proportion of reported crimes, says DC Alan Soames, the head of the unit.

TruckPol is currently working with 38 out of 43 police forces, and Soames adds: "We also need to take into consideration that not everybody in the transport sector will report crimes to the police, and that not every force will feed information to us. It's unlikely all freight crimes last year were accounted for."

The loads most frequently stolen during the period were household items ranging from shampoo to cleaning goods, followed by electrical goods.