Rachel has welcomed the announcement of a new government trial that will support police to tackle serious organised freight crime.
The MP, who has been campaigning for a change to the way the police tackle freight crime, welcomed that the government had listened to her campaign and the voices of local hauliers who have been impacted by the problem.
A fifth of constituents in Rachel’s constituency work in the freight and logistics sector, which is worth billions of pounds to the West Midlands economy.
The announcement follows a week of media appearances by Rachel to promote the campaign, including appearing on BBC Midlands Today to talk about their new documentary Lorry Crime Exposed. The documentary, which is available on BBC iPlayer here, reveals the scale and sophistication of freight criminality, including highlighting a case where criminals bought up a transport firm using a dead man’s identity to pose as legitimate truckers – before making off with £75,000 worth of goods.
The new government “flagging” trial will help police to identify patterns in freight criminality, by ensuring that freight thefts receive a specific tag in police crime tracking systems. Currently, such crimes are simply logged as ‘theft from a vehicle’, making them difficult to distinguish from other car crime.
Rachel said the current system was hindering police efforts to track freight criminals and put them behind bars. She said that while she would be continuing her campaign for the introduction of a fully separate ‘crime code’ for freight crime, she welcomed the move as significant progress.
She said:
“Last year I launched my campaign to tackle freight crime by tabling a new bill in parliament, so I strongly welcome this new government effort to ensure the police have the tools they need to crack down on this serious and organised criminality.
“20% of my constituents work in this sector, and there isn’t a single haulage firm I’ve spoken to who haven’t been impacted, which is making drivers fearful and costing local firms thousands.
“That’s why I’m continuing to campaign for a new crime code for freight crime, more investment in security at truck stops, and a national policing strategy to deal with the issue, so we can put these shameless criminals behind bars where they belong.”