TT Club has welcomed the recent cross-party parliamentary debate on the issue of security and policing, and its subsequent impact on freight crime.

The specialist freight transport insurer argues that the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service is under-supported and under-funded. The freight crime investigation team currently has just one full-time serving police officer on secondment, a part-time analyst and a part-time data entry clerk.

TT has long supported NaVCIS financially and practically. Managing director of loss prevention at TT Club, Mike Yarwood, is also vice-chair of the industry-led HGV Parking Capacity and Standards Task and Finish group, which the UK’s Department for Transport helped establish. He is leading the workstream focused on standards at lorry parking facilities and working with NaVCIS Freight and other industry stakeholders is producing an industry led report, which will advise the government on recommendations to reduce freight crime.

“We very much welcomed the airing of this issue at a legislative level," he said. "The detailed aspects of both opportunistic and well planned theft; the lack of secure overnight parking facilities; the identification of crime hotspots as well as concerns over driver safety, which is discouraging female recruits, were all discussed and their significance put into perspective as priorities to be addressed.”

Rachel Taylor MP, who led the recent parliamentary debate, outlined the principal implications. “Tackling freight crime is essential to achieving the Government’s five missions,” she said.

The UK’s road haulage industry, which moves 89% of all goods and 98% of agricultural and food products in the country contributes £13.5bn to the UK economy. This represents 5.6% of the country's GDP. Every pound generated by the logistics industry creates three down the supply chain, highlighting the widespread impact of freight crime for the UK.

---