There have been renewed calls by the RHA to increase the number of safe truck parking spaces to reduce crime.
Truck parking spaces have long been a problem for haulage drivers everywhere in the UK, many of whom are victims of targeted thefts on a regular basis. The RHA has once again spoken out against this, calling for a greater number of safe parking areas for trucks to stop during the journey.
Targeted Thefts
The Times has reported on more than one occasion that long and short-haul truck drivers have found themselves victim to targeted thefts by organised gangs. These groups are known to target consignments which contain valuable items like cigarettes, clothing and alcohol. It is believed there are large criminal networks who research specific trucks, their routes, and where they will stop in order to find the optimum time for a theft. This follows a spate of crimes committed against trucks leaving distribution centres in Kent and Hampshire.
A representative of the RHA offered this in comment:
“A key issue is a lack of safe and secure parking for lorry drivers. We estimate we need another 11,000 sites across the country. This would make it harder for organised crime gangs to target HGVs and would give truckers greater peace of mind when they’re parked up overnight on the road.”
An Ongoing Problem
The big issue that is being faced with freight crime is that it is a national problem but it is recorded in such a way that disguises the true scale of the damage. As a result, part of what the RHA is calling for is a change in rules, specifically the request for a unique offence that can be used to identify freight crimes and deliver appropriate judgement for those who have been caught committing them.
The problem is that the vast majority of freight crime is reported as theft from a motor vehicle, which is the same description used to refer to theft of a domestic car. This means that thousands of pounds of merchandise could be stolen from a truck, but it will be logged in the same way as a mobile phone being stolen from a small vehicle.
Naturally, this makes it very difficult to understand the true scale of the crime. It is thought that freight crime costs £250 million each year in loss, and the estimated cost to the economy actually exceeded £420 million in 2023. Furthermore, the average loss for each reported incident was a total equating to roughly £13,000.
Plans For the Future
The RHA has been campaigning for reform for a long time now.
They want to have rules and planning permissions put in place that will make it easier to build Facilities, and the new government is optimistic about what support it can provide. However, the only real way that we will see big changes is if there is a massive reform of the way we process these types of crimes and what that means for the country.