Freight crime is a huge problem in the
UK, costing the economy up to £1 billion per
year.* Unfortunately, as the average loss of each incident
totals over £25,000**, the reward for such haulage far
outweighs the risk of detection and prosecution for many
criminals.
The Association of Chief Police Officers
Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service's (AVCIS) TruckPol division,
assists the Home Office and Association of Chief Police Officers,
sharing information on national road freight crime in order to
deliver solutions, minimise opportunities for criminals and reduce
offences. The theft of large goods vehicles and their
loads cause significant economic and logistical harm to
manufacturers, operators and retailers alike.
In order to reduce freight crime, AVCIS
is working in strategic partnership with Cobra UK, European market
leader in vehicle tracking systems. Utilising its new
Capture vehicle technology, Cobra UK is providing AVCIS with a
bespoke tracking system for its sting-trailer, to give police the
upper-hand in catching thieves in the act.
The custom-built system provides an
efficient deterrent in the fight against would-be freight thieves,
combining state-of-the-art proactive vehicle tracking and
web-monitoring technology. The system features covert daytime and
night-time cameras, as well as automatic intrusion alerts, sent to
3G mobile telephones; providing forces with the opportunity to make
arrests with admissible video footage and supporting journey
history, that can be used as evidence in
court.
"Freight theft is an extremely costly
problem," says Detective Chief Inspector Paul Lambotte, AVCIS' Head
of Unit. "The crimes are organised, increasingly violent and
market-driven. Professional criminals are happy to travel the
length and breadth of the country to target vehicles and their
loads.
"Cobra UK's Capture vehicle technology
will not only enable us to catch thieves red-handed, but will act
as a deterrent, making criminals think twice before committing an
offence. We are confident that systems such as this
will help in the fight against freight crime."
Andrew Smith, Managing Director of Cobra UK,
stated: "Cobra has been at the
forefront of protecting vehicles and their contents with highly
innovative products across Europe for 25 years. We are delighted to
be extending our relationship with AVCIS into its TruckPol
division; utilising our technology to develop a bespoke system for
the sting-trailer, which will ultimately deter criminals to target
businesses and drive down road freight
crime."