In its battle to reduce levels of crime against commercial drivers, Logistics UK has joined forces with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), reports Peter Brown.
Head of road freight policy at Logistics UK Maddi Solloway-Price said the partnership with NaVCIS, the national specialist policing unit that bridges the gap between policing and industry, aims to assist member organisations to identify and mitigate against potential risks to vehicles and staff while delivering for customers.
“Freight crime is on the rise with goods worth more than £111 million stolen from vehicles in the past year,” she acknowledged.
“While the commercial cost of these thefts is obviously critical, particularly for an industry such as ours which operates on particularly narrow margins, the impact on drivers’ mental health and driver retention is especially concerning to the long-term security of our member businesses and the wider supply chain, as well as the wellbeing of our drivers.
“They are the lifeblood of our industry and deserve to feel safe and secure when undertaking their daily work – that is our main priority.
“We look forward to welcoming speakers from NaVCIS to our autumn series of Transport Manager conferences, where they will share their knowledge and advice on minimising risk to employees and cargos.
“In addition, we will be working closely with them to share their insights when identifying tactics and trends employed by offenders to target the movement of goods and prevent future incidents.”
PC Michael Dawber is a field intelligence officer at NaVCIS. He added: “Our work uncovers the many ways organised crime groups operate in order to steal cargo from commercial vehicles.
“NaVCIS is the bridge between policing and industry. Through our data analysis, we hope to help the industry identify potential areas of weakness in the supply chain and protect goods moving from the manufacturer to the end user.”
