REPORTED FUEL THEFT
Reported fuel thefts increased sharply during August and September 2022, and are significantly higher this year compared to last year. The peak in reported fuel thefts in the summer months correlates with the high fuel prices that we saw during this time. Fuel prices came down slightly in October, and this was reflected in reported fuel thefts (however, there is a delay in the reporting of some data, which will have contributed to this).
Most recently, Reading appears to have been heavily targeted by fuel thieves, where already in November there have been 2 large scale thefts in the RG postcode (1st and 7th November.) In the earlier incident, it is known that a 7.5tonne lorry was used to syphon the fuel into, showing an element of preplanning by the offenders.
Other hotspots at the moment include South Yorkshire, from Manchester across to Sheffield, Doncaster as well as Lincolnshire. Of note, on 1st November, an individual was arrested east of Sheffield on suspicion of fuel theft, and had a large amount of empty fuel cannisters in the back of his van.
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