Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Q3 2020

Author: NaVCIS Intelligence Analyst Contributor: NaVCIS Intelligence Researcher Date/version: 30th November 2020/v.2 Classification: OFFICIAL Handling instructions: This document is intended to inform NaVCIS’ strategic governance structures and Freight industry partners. This document should not be shared outside of this audience without prior permission of the author.

OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Introduction Partners NaVCIS receive cargo crime notifications from a number of sources The work undertaken by NaVCIS Freight Crime would not be possible namely Police, Industry, Hauliers, Insurers, Cargo Surveyors, Trade without the assistance & funding from our financial partners. Organisations, the Road Haulage Association, and the British International Freight Association. Reported cargo crime data is received regularly from 34 UK police forces. The remaining forces provide data on a quarterly basis.

Aims and Objectives The aim of this report is to analyse the cargo crime data in relation to all cargo crime notifications received for the period July, August and September 2020 (Q3), in order to provide an overview and assessment of the scale and nature of thefts nationally. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]

Creating value from data 2 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Key Findings Recommendations

• There were 1041 Cargo crime notifications during Q3. • Discover what security measures are currently in place • The total loss in Q3 was £18,015,418.06. at the most vulnerable MSA’s and look at ways to • 70% of notifications were Theft From Motor Vehicle (TFMV) increase them if appropriate. offences. • Consider any alternatives to using soft-sided trailers to • Essex was the top force area for TFMV offences (12%). transport commodities or look at ways to improve the • There were 253 notifications of cargo crime at Motorway security of the soft-sided trailer. For example, use Service Areas (MSA’s). slash resistant tarpaulins. • , M1, was the most vulnerable MSA (8%). • Consider regularly changing routes or stops for breaks • There were 518 notifications of cargo crimes at Independent in order to prevent any recognisable patterns for the Road Parking locations. journey. • Curtain Slashing was the most frequently reported method of • Plan journeys to include stops for breaks at secure entry to trailer for TFMV offences (46%). parking places. • Fuel was the most frequently stolen commodity (24%). • South Yorkshire was the top force area for theft of fuel offences (19%). • The hotspot areas were split into 3 in terms of describing a more geographical location; North; Midlands and South (and To find out how to join our sponsorship team and how we can not necessarily volume). The north hotspot comprised of 35 work together to assist in combating Freight & Cargo crime – offences, the Midlands hotspot comprised of 20 offences and please contact: [email protected] the South hotspot comprised of 108 offences.

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Overview During July, August and September 2020 (Q3), NaVCIS have received Figure 2 shows the number of cargo crime offences per day, during Q3 2020, 1041 notifications of HGV, Freight and Cargo crimes. This is a 33% according to notifications received by NaVCIS using ‘earliest date’ of the increase in the number of offences compared to Q2. It is inferred that offence. There are two clear spikes on 25th August (29) and 26th August (27), this is due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis period, as notifications which over both dates include TFMV offences (41), Vehicle Interference during this quarter are at similar levels to the number of notifications in offences (14) and one theft offence. The offences on both dates occurred Q1 (just before/at start of COVID-19 period). across 15 different force areas, with Leicestershire having the most offences (14), followed by Derbyshire (7), (6), Essex (4), Metropolitan The highest number of notifications received during Q3 was in (4), (3), South Yorkshire (3), Warwickshire (3), Avon & September (411), whilst the cost price value was highest during August Somerset (2), Kent (2), (2), South Wales (2), Surrey (2), TVP (£7,964,485.15). The combined cost price value of all cargo crimes in Q3 (1) and (1). The majority of offences occurred at is £18,015,418.06, but retail values would be at least four times greater. Independent Road Parking locations (54%) and occurred overnight (52%).

Figure 2 – Cargo Crime offences per day during Q3

Figure 1 – Cargo Crime notifications 4 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Hotspot areas Overview of Hotspot areas

The north hotspot comprised of 35 offences, the Midlands hotspot comprised of 20 offences and the South hotspot comprised of 108 offences.

. Within the North hotspot area, the highest offence type was TFMV (48%), followed by Vehicle Interference (46%), Burglary (3%) and Attempt theft (3%).

. Within the Midlands hotspot area, the highest offence type was TFMV (60%), followed by Vehicle Interference (40%).

. Within the South hotspot area, the highest offence type was TFMV (81%), followed by Vehicle Interference (17%) and Deception (2%). Figure 3 – Hotspot area – Overview Further details of these hotspot areas are shown across Figure 3 shows a heatmap of all cargo crime notifications the following slides. received during Q3, using the offence postcode. The hotspot areas can be split into three areas in terms of simplified geographical locations (not volume of offences): 1) North; 2) Midlands; 3) South.

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Hotspot 1- North Area

Hotspot 1 comprises of 2 clusters of offences

1. , 2. Whitwood & Normanton, North Yorkshire West Yorkshire LS22 5GT x 16 WF10 5QH x 12 LS22 7DN x 2 WF6 2UA x 1 LS22 7TS x 1 WF10 5NP x 1 Total 19 WF6 1TD x 1 WF6 1ZB x 1 Total 16

Figure 5 – Hotspot 1 – Cluster 2 Figure 4 – Hotspot 1 – Cluster 1 Figure 5 shows a column map of cluster 2, within hotspot 1, comprising Figure 4 shows a column map of cluster 1, within hotspot 1, of 16 offences: comprising of 19 offences:  WF10 5QH - Exelby Services, M62 – TS  LS22 5GT- , A1(M) – MSA . Vehicle Interference offences (10) and TFMV offences (2) . TFMV offences (10) and Vehicle Interference offences (6) . Offences occurred between 28/08/2020 (3) and 25/09/2020 (9) . Offences occurred between 01/07/2020 and 27/09/2020  WF10 5NP – Whitwood – IRP  LS22 7DN – Wetherby – IRP . TFMV offence (1) . TFMV offences (2) . Offence occurred 02/09/2020 . Offences occurred on 31/07/2020 and 05/08/2020  WF6 1ZB – Normanton – IRP  LS22 7DS – Wetherby – IRP . TFMV (1) . TFMV (1) . Offence occurred 11/09/2020 . Offence occurred 05/08/2020  WF6 1TD – Normanton – IRP . Burglary (1) . Offence occurred 28/08/2020  WF6 2UA – Normanton – SY . Attempt theft (1) 6 OFFICIAL . Offence occurred 10/08/2020 Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Hotspot 2 – Midlands Area

Hotspot 2 comprises of 1 main cluster

1. Leicestershire LE3 3GB x 19 LE3 1UJ x 1 Total 20

. 68% of the offences at LE3 3GB occurred between the 17th and 26th August. Of these offences, the majority occurred overnight (69%) and the method of entry (where known) was ‘curtain slashing’ (91%) and ‘Seals/padlock cut’ (9%, 1 offence). . Only three offences occurred in September,

Figure 6 – Hotspot 2 suggesting that this area will be a less vulnerable location looking forward. Figure 6 shows a column map of hotspot 2, comprising of 20 offences:  LE3 3GB – Leicester Forest East Services, M1 – MSA . TFMV offences (11) and Vehicle Interference offences (8) . Offences occurred between 01/07/2020 and 09/09/2020  LE3 1UJ – Leicester – IRP . TFMV offence (1) . Offence occurred 04/07/2020 7 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Hotspot 3 – South Area

Hotspot 3 comprises of 5 clusters of offences

1. M1 3. A1 (M), 5. Along A2 Kent Bedfordshire Hertfordshire ME13 8XE x 1 LU5 6HR x 12 EN6 3NE x 12 ME13 8YN x 1 LU5 6HP x 8 EN6 3QQ x 10 ME13 9LZ x 1 Total 20 2. M11 Essex Total 22 4. M25 Essex ME13 9SR x 5 CM23 5QZ x 15 RM19 1SR x 3 ME13 9HY x 1 Total 15 RM19 1TS x 5 ME13 9LL x 2 RM19 1YX x 1 CT2 9AZ x 1 RM19 1NX x1 CT1 3TQ x 3 RM19 1NS x 1 CT4 7AA x 5 RM16 3BG x 7 CT4 5AA x 2 RM20 3WD x 1 CT4 5EU x 1 RM20 3LH x 1 CT4 6HJ x 1 Total 20 CT4 6RL x 1 CT15 7LE x 2 Figure 7 – Hotspot 3 CT16 3LG x 1 CT15 5EW x 1 CT16 1LU x 1 Further details of these clusters are shown across the following slides. CT17 9TP x 1 Total 31 8 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Hotspot 3 – South Area

Figure 8 – Hotspot 3 – Cluster 1 Figure 9 – Hotspot 3 – Cluster 2 Figure 10 – Hotspot 3 – Cluster 3

Figure 8 shows a column map of cluster 1, within hotspot Figure 9 shows a column map of cluster 2, within hotspot Figure 10 shows a column map of cluster 3, within 3, comprising of 20 offences: 3, comprising of 15 offences: hotspot 3, comprising of 22 offences:  LU5 6HR – Toddington Services M1 - MSA  CM23 5QZ – Birchanger Green Services M11 - MSA  EN6 3NE – A1(M) - TS . TFMV offences (8) and Vehicle Interference offences (4) . TFMV offences (15) . TFMV offences (6) and Vehicle Interference offences (6) . Offences occurred between 03/07/2020 and . Offences occurred between 01/07/2020 and . Offences occurred between 07/07/2020 and 30/09/2020 25/09/2020 29/09/2020  LU5 6HP – Toddington Services M1 – MSA  EN6 3QQ – M25 – MSA . TFMV offences (7) and Vehicle Interference offence (1) . TFMV offences (9) and Vehicle Interference offence (1) . Offences occurred between 22/07/2020 and . Offences occurred between 05/07/2020 and 24/09/2020 25/09/2020

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Hotspot 3 – South Area

Figure 11 shows a column map of cluster 4, within hotspot 3, comprising of 20 offences:  RM16 3BG – M25 - MSA . TFMV offences (7) . Offences occurred between 02/08/2020 and 26/09/2020  RM19 1TS – Essex – IRP (3) & TS (2) . TFMV offences (5) . Offences occurred between 19/07/2020 and 26/08/2020  RM19 1SR – Essex – SY (2) & IRP (1) . Deception offences (2) and TFMV offence (1) . Offences occurred between 10/07/2020 and 04/09/2020  RM19 1YX – Essex - IRP . TFMV offence (1) . Offence occurred 02/09/2020  RM19 1NX - Essex - IRP . TFMV offences (1) . Offence occurred 02/07/2020  RM19 1NS – Essex - IRP . TFMV offences (1) . Offence occurred 06/07/2020  RM20 3WD – Essex - IRP . Figure 11 – Hotspot 3 – Cluster 4 TFMV offences (1) . Offence occurred 23/09/2020  RM20 3LH – Essex - IRP . TFMV offences (1) . Offence occurred 07/07/2020

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Hotspot 3 – South Area

Figure 12 shows a column map of cluster 5, within hotspot 3, comprising of 31 offences:  Cluster along A2 between Faversham and Dover, Kent . This cluster of offences along the A2 comprises 31 offences across 18 postcode locations. . TFMV offences (25) and Vehicle Interference offences (6). . Offences occurred between 01/07/2020 and 17/09/2020 . July had the most number of offences recorded in this cluster (15 offences), followed by August (9) and September (7), highlighting the reduction in the number of offences across the months and suggesting that this area will be a less vulnerable location looking forward. . The majority of offences occurred at Independent Road Parking locations (81%) and the other offences occurred at Truck Stops (19%). . The postcode location recording the highest number of offences is ME13 9SR. However, four occurred on the same evening (17/07/2020). All offences were theft of fuel.

Figure 12 – Hotspot 3 – Cluster 5 . Fuel was the most frequently stolen commodity across all offences within this cluster, accounting for 77%, followed by vehicle parts (7%, 2 offences).

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Overview - Offence Type Overview - TFMV During Q3, over half of offences were Theft From Motor Vehicle (TFMV), During Q3, Independent Road Parking (IRP) was the most frequent accounting for 70% of all Cargo crime notifications received, which is location for TFMV offences (57%), followed by Motorway Service Areas consistent with Q1 and Q2. As would be expected, the combined cost (MSA) (22%), Tobacco theft in transit (8%), Secure Yards (SY) (7%) and price value of the TFMV offences was also the highest (£12,471,018.06). Romanian Rollover (1%).

Despite it not being the next highest offence type in terms of number of The top force area for all TFMV offences was Essex (12%), followed by offences, TOMV had the next highest combined cost price value South Yorkshire (9%) and Kent (6%). (£2,927,600.00), accounting for 4% of all Cargo crime notifications received. However, the stolen value of one of these offences was The average cost price value across all of the TFMV offences during Q3 £1,600,000.00, which was theft of Xboxes on 31/08/2020 (Suffolk Police was £17,248.99. force area). Overview - TOMV During Q3, the cost price value of TOMV offences ranges from £1,200.00 to £1,600,000.00, with 76% being £30,000.00 or less. The 1.6 million pound loss for one crime, occurred at 10:30 am on 31/08/2020 within the Suffolk Police force area. The offenders gained entry to secure premises to a HGV hitched up to a pre loaded trailer, containing Xboxes and drove it away.

The thefts in Q3 occurred across twenty different force areas, with eleven force areas having more than one TOMV offence; West Yorkshire (4), Northamptonshire (4), Cheshire (4), West Midlands (3), Cumbria (2), South Wales (2), Nottinghamshire (2), West Mercia (2), Gloucestershire (2), Suffolk (2) and Cleveland (2). All force areas having more than one offence, all occurred on different dates. Figure 13 – Cargo Crime by offence type 12 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Overview - Stolen Commodity Type During Q3 2020, the most frequently stolen commodity (excluding Unknown) is fuel, accounting for 24% of all stolen commodities overall, followed by Tobacco (9%) and Miscellaneous (9%).

Top 5 stolen Fuel Tobacco Miscellaneous Food and Drinks Electrical commodities

Total stolen 187 71 71 50 40

Cambridgeshire (8) South Yorkshire (35) Metropolitan (30) Essex (8) Essex (8) Top 2 forces Essex (8) Kent (33) Hertfordshire (7) West Yorkshire (6) South Yorkshire (4) Leicestershire (8)

High Street, London (2) Newton Park Services, (2) Birchanger Green Services, M11 (2) Birchanger Green Services, M11 (2) Top repeat location A2 Boughton Bypass, Kent (5) Imperial Wharf, London (2) Services, M6 (2) Blairlinn Ind Est, Glasgow (2) Park Spring Road, S.Yorkshire (2) Seven Sisters Road, London (2) Wetherby Services, A1(M) (2) Ferrybridge Services, M62 (2)

Morning and daytime, particularly Evening and Overnight, Tuesday, Wednesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday Peak time particularly Thursday, Friday and Thursday, early hours and Saturday (only 1 offence on early hours and overnight Overnight Monday overnight Sunday)

Figure 14 – Table of top 5 stolen commodities . Fuel is also the most frequently stolen commodity within the top offence category of TFMV, accounting for 23%. . Within the theft offence category, trailer is the most frequently stolen commodity, accounting for 30%. . There is no repeat stolen commodity within the offence category of Robbery. . Food and Drinks is the most frequently stolen commodity within the offence category of Deception, accounting for 60%. . There is no repeat stolen commodity within the offence category of Burglary. 13 OFFICIAL Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Theft of Fuel offences As already shown, the most frequently stolen commodity during Q3 Figure 16 shows the location type for all of the fuel thefts across the (excluding Unknown) is fuel, accounting for 24% of all stolen three months, with Independent Road Parking locations being the top commodities. The top two force areas are South Yorkshire (35) and location during every month. There were 16 repeat IRP locations, in Kent (33), as shown in figure 15, which together account for 36% of terms of the postcode of offences, with the top ones being MK43 9EA fuel thefts overall. Fuel offences in the South Yorkshire force area (A421, Bedford) (5) and CT4 7AA (A2, Canterbury) (5). occurred at Independent Road Parking locations (97%) and Secure Yards (3%). Fuel offences in the Kent force area occurred at There were 3 repeat MSA locations, in terms of the postcode of offences, Independent Road Parking locations (82%), Truck stops (15%) and with the top one being EN6 3QQ (South Mimms Services, M25) (3). All of (MSA) (3%). The peak times for all theft of fuel these offences occurred across different dates and months. offences were overnight and evening, particularly on a Thursday, Friday and Monday.

Figure 15 – Fuel thefts by force area Figure 16 – Fuel thefts by location type OFFICIAL 14 Quarterly Cargo Crime Update – July/ August/ September 2020

Method of Entry to trailer for all Theft From Motor Vehicle (TFMV) offences

Figure 17 shows the method of entry to trailer for all TFMV offences during Q3. The most frequently reported method of entry to trailer (excluding ‘not applicable’), was Curtain Slashing, accounting for 46% of all TFMV offences.

The top location for the ‘curtain slashing’ offences was Independent Road Parking locations (49%), followed by Motorway Service areas (41%). For all ‘curtain slashing’ offences, ‘miscellaneous’ was the top commodity group stolen (excluding unknown) (15%), followed by ‘food and drinks’ (11%). This is consistent with the ‘curtain slashing’ offences reported in Q2. The combined cost value of all commodities stolen during Q3 using ‘curtain slashing’ as a method of entry is £6,649,557.91.

The top force areas for all ‘curtain slashing’ offences (15 offences or more) are Essex (23%), Leicestershire (7%), TVP (7%) and West Yorkshire (3%). Figure 17 – Method of entry for TFMV offences

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Offence Location Type Motorway Service Areas (MSA) Figure 18 shows the location type across all offences. The most frequent NaVCIS received 253 notifications of cargo crimes at Motorway Service Areas location type during Q3 is Independent Road Parking, accounting for during Q3 2020. 50% of all offences, followed by Motorway Service Areas (24%). The most vulnerable MSA location during Q3 was Toddington Services, M1 (Bedfordshire force area), accounting for 8% of all offences at MSA locations, followed by Leicester Forest East Services, M1 (Leicestershire force area) (7%) and Wetherby Services, A1(M) (North Yorkshire force area) (6%). Over half of all offences at MSA’s were Theft From Motor Vehicle (TFMV) (64%), where ‘miscellaneous’ was the most frequently stolen commodity type (excluding unknown), accounting for 13% of all TFMV offences at MSA’s, followed by ‘food and drink’ (11%).

Figure 18 – Offence location type Independent Road Parking (IRP) NaVCIS received 518 notifications of cargo crimes at Independent Road Parking locations during Q3 2020. The top force areas for IRP offences are Essex (13%), followed by South Yorkshire (12%) and Kent (9%). The most frequently stolen commodity at IRP locations is fuel (29%), with a combined cost price value of £285,000.00. Figure 19 – Five or more offences at MSA’s 16 OFFICIAL