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Case Case study: Salford City Council and Greater Manchester Police study: Salford City Council and Greater Manchester Police

This case study outlines work done by Salford City Council and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to implement and enforce the Motor Salvage Operators Regulations.

It covers:

• Structure and funding

• Locating motor salvage operators

• The registration process

• Liaison between police and council

• Risk assessment

• Enforcement action and vehicles recovered

• Operation Kite

• What works

If you would like more information about this work, email Ron.pennington@salford.gov.uk

Structure and funding

Salford City Council has located its Motor Salvage Operators registration process in the Trading Standards department, alongside Scrap Metal Dealers registration.

When the regulations came into force, Salford had already used funding from Communities Against Drugs to recruit 2 extra trading standards enforcement officers to focus on stolen property/second hand goods and recovering this property to impact on acquisitive crime. 

When the Motor Salvage Operators Regulations came into force, their role naturally progressed to focusing on stolen vehicles. 

They currently receive funding from the BSC/BCU pooled budget.

Tell me more about this fund

These officers report their results to the Police Liaison Officer and the Burglary and Vehicle Crime co-ordinator within the Salford Community Safety Unit.

Locating motor salvage operators

The officers both have investigative backgrounds (one is a former police officer).  

This has helped them to track down operators who do not wish to register.

Although the officers have visited most operators, they recognise that some simply move premises elsewhere and new operators are starting up in the area all the time, so the task of registration is never complete. 

They have also encountered cases of operators applying in one name when the business is jointly owned, or operators who try to change the owner/manager in an attempt to avoid a refusal to register.

The registration process

Salford has a dual application form which serves both motor salvage operators and scrap metal dealers. They make the application form available on their website for downloading and give details of where to obtain an application pack.

Liaison between police and council

The trading standards enforcement officers work well with the police force, and have provided intelligence from site visits that has resulted in successful police operations. They prepare cases against unregistered operators and follow these up, although they wait until the outcome of police prosecutions for stolen vehicles/parts where appropriate. 

Salford City Council and Greater Manchester Police have a protocol in place for information exchange on motor salvage operators. This protocol covers:

• the form of indemnity

• procedures for complaints

• subject access and security

• what information is to be exchanged

• the working process for vetting including targets

• the undertakings of each of the parties.

Show me the text of the protocol

Although GMP no longer has a dedicated Vehicle Fraud and Autocrime Unit to respond to intelligence at short notice, trading standards continue to provide information to local investigating officers and the vehicle inspection team.

Risk assessment

The trading standards enforcement officers wear stab vests on site visits and request police to accompany them to operators who are known to have a criminal history. They notify the office of all their visits.

Enforcement action and vehicles recovered

• Operation Newchurch 
  On a site visit to a motor salvage operator in connection with responsibilities under the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001, the enforcement officers noticed a car that appeared to be having its identifiable markings removed at the salvage yard and informed the Vehicle Fraud and Autocrime Unit. 
  
  Officers from this unit went to the yard, identified the car as stolen and arrested the operator before continuing to search the premises. 
  
  In total, they recovered 26 identifiable stolen cars, with an estimated value of £170,000 - £200,000. 
  
  The owner pleaded guilty to handling 20 stolen cars and is due for sentencing soon. The Crown Prosecution Service is also applying to recover money from the defendant under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 
  
  The operation also uncovered:

  • illegal immigrant workers at the yard

  • evidence of drug dealing

  • a car used in an armed robbery.
    
    

• Operation Kite
  This operation led to the recovery of 36 stolen vehicles in a breakers yard.
  
  Trading Standards were investigating the yard because of a number of serious complaints against the company.  They gave their information and evidence from surveillance to the police, who were also investigating individuals connected with the company.
  
  A planned raid on the yard recovered stolen vehicles estimated to be valued at over £400,000.

What works

Salford Trading Standards have been instrumental in putting some criminal operators in the Salford area out of business and even behind bars. They see the key to their success as being proactively involved in the registration process rather than treating it as a paper exercise. 

Their work has contributed to the regeneration of the Salford area and the fact that 2 areas of Salford are no longer in the top 10 high vehicle crime areas within the Greater Manchester Police area.