NaVCIS AIDS IN RECOVER OF JCB TELEHANDLER
The recent Combined Industries Theft Solutions (CITS) conference and exhibition, held at the impressive JCB world headquarters in Staffordshire on the 18th November 2021, attracted over 300 delegates throughout the day.
The conference titled: ‘2022 - Will you be a Victim?’ included a Keynote address from Mr Kit Malthouse, Minister for Policing, as well as senior law enforcement speakers which included Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman – National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead on Serious, Organised and Acquisitive Crime (SOAC).
The events programme was split into two sessions, the morning for Industry delegates and the afternoon for the police.
The morning session took an informed look at how the construction and agricultural sectors can take proactive steps to reduce the risk of theft. Industry learnt of a new Intelligence-based police unit - OPAL-ACE- which is managed by Detective Chief Inspector Ernie Locke, and looks at SOAC offences, and coordinates with all UK constabularies.
The conference also covered, the theft of vehicles, Detective Constable Chris Piggott of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), gave a broad overview of criminal trends over the last 12 months, statistics, and how Organised Criminal Gangs (OCG’s) are currently operating in the UK and overseas. He also highlighted the challenges the police have faced due to BREXIT, when trying to report stolen machinery to their European counterparts, and in recovering the plant from those countries.
Of particular interest to Industry was the removal of red diesel usage for machinery in construction related activities from April 1st 2022. Guest speaker Peter Haddock of Content with Media, and a group of panellists discussed the impact that companies will face when the changes come into force.
One of the panellists included Seumas Ascott of J Murphy and Sons, who best outlined Industry’s concerns.
“You might think that securing the [fuel] cap would be an adequate security measure, but criminals will use any means at their disposal. It has been known for them to pierce the fuel tank with whatever they can find, including scaffold poles, in order to access the contents. That has obvious implications in terms of downtime and costs of repair, as well as the clean-up of any fuel spillages. It is often not feasible to remove plant to secure compounds, and if we did, it would have an impact on productivity, not to mention the environmental toll of unnecessary transportation.’’
One potential solution mentioned by Peter Haddock was Datatag’s VENOM, a coloured DNA dye that can be added to fuel bowsers, as a way of identifying the fuel’s owner.
The panel discussed various options that Industry could adopt, but each suggested that companies carry out a complete review of current security on fuel storage.
The conference held a CITS Awards to outstanding police officers and units from around the country who had excelled in tackling agricultural and construction crime in their area. A special award went to DC Chris Piggott for his services to industry.
There were also special acknowledgements to Ivor Baigent of JCB, and Rob Oliver of the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) who are both retiring. Both gentlemen have spent considerable time in supporting CITS and helping to tackle crime in these industries.
The police session updated delegates on improved crime prevention and detection strategies developed by Industry when dealing with rural crime, and machinery / equipment theft. It gave officers the chance to better understand the implications of crime to both the farming and construction industries throughout the UK
The Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum (CITS) is a ‘not for profit’ organisation for the Construction and Agricultural industries. Its purpose is to reduce the effects of crime by understanding the latest criminal trends, by forging partnerships with the Home Office, Police and other interested businesses, creating prevention strategies, designing out the crime, and promoting best practice across the UK. New business partners are invited to join CITS Partnership to encourage new innovations and help protect the communities in their sector.
CITS will be looking to hold further event in 2022, for all enquiries please contact faye@cits.uk.com
