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This paper presents the findings of a study on the theft of Heavy Good Vehicles. The work was commissioned during 1994 by the Metropolitan Police Joint Action Group on Organised Lorry Theft in order to provide the necessary information for the development of initiatives to combat the problem of lorry theft.

Title: The nature and extent of heavy goods vehicle theft
Author: Rick Brown
Series: Home Office Crime Detection & Prevention Series Paper No 66
Number of pages: 57 (2 for summary)
Date published: 1995

Summary

The study revealed that, in 1994, 3,047 HGVs were stolen in England, Scotland and Wales, although England accounted for by far the largest proportion of thefts. Most of these stolen vehicles have never been recovered. The research demonstrates that the majority of HGV theft tends to be focused on a fairly small group of vehicle types and on HGVs produced by just a few manufacturers.

Those who are victims of HGV theft incur considerable costs. In terms of the insured value of the vehicle (usually much lower than the market, or replacement value), the study found that HGV theft cost over £30 million in 1994. This figure ignores many of the other associated costs such as the cost of replacing the vehicle, increased insurance premiums and loss of business.

HGV theft is an issue that will need to be tackled by a variety of groups if the extent of the problem is to be reduced. The conclusions provide action points for vehicle manufacturers, security device manufacturers, HGV owners and HGV drivers.

Types of vehicle stolen

Tipper lorries were the most frequently stolen type of HGV, accounting for 30% of thefts. Four types of HGV (tipper, drop-side, flat-bed and goods) accounted for almost 80% of all thefts. However, livestock carriers had the highest risk of being stolen, relative to their numbers on the road. Where the make of lorry was concerned, 80% of thefts were concentrated on four manufacturers (Iveco Ford, Bedford, Leyland DAF and Mercedes). In terms of the relative risk of theft, Bedfords were most likely to be stolen.

Location of theft

The South East had the highest number of thefts,followed by Yorkshire and Humberside and the NorthWest. By contrast, Scotland and Wales had the lowestincidence of theft, accounting for 4.4% of thefts. Thoseparked on industrial estates accounted for over half ofthe HGVs stolen, whilst rural locations and residentialareas each accounted for about a fifth of thefts. Overhalf of thefts occurred from a company’s own depot,whilst 11% of vehicles were taken from factory /warehouse parking areas.

Police Research Group - Crime Detection and Prevention Series: Paper 66

Time of theft

HGVs were most likely to be found stolen on a Monday. This was probably due to the fact that many weekend thefts will not be discovered until the Monday morning. Indeed, almost a third of HGVs appear to be stolen over the weekend. Over three quarters of all stolen HGVs were found to have been stolen in the morning, suggesting that the hours of darkness present a particularly high risk.

Victims of theft

The majority of victims of HGV theft were smaller sized companies. Organisations employing ten staff or less accounted for half of all thefts. The construction industry seems to have been most affected (with 31%

of thefts) followed by distribution /haulage. In terms of the insured value of the vehicle (usually considerably less than the actual/replacement value),

the average loss suffered was £11,238. Multiplied across the 2,687 unrecovered vehicles, this gives a total insured value of over £30 million.

Vehicle Security

Over three quarters of the stolen vehicles had steering column locks. Generally speaking, however, stolen HGVs had minimal security protection.

Where the security of parking location was concerned, almost a third of vehicles had been parked in a location with no security present, whilst half were stolen from locations with locked gates and/or fencing. Once HGV owners had been the victim of a theft over 80% took measures to prevent being a victim again through improving the security of their vehicles/premises.

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