West Midlands Police winning war on lorry raiders

November 5th, 2009

Police are winning the battle against criminal gangs who target lorry drivers parked in vulnerable locations across the region.

A series of measures launched at the start of the year has seen the number of attacks on truckers drop to an average of just three a month.

In February officers dealt with 15 cases of robbery on drivers, many of whom were attacked or threatened as they parked overnight in their cabs.

But a series of initiatives driven by West Midlands Police have reduced the number of incidents to just two in April.

Drivers are also getting the message and heeding police warnings to park in licensed lorry parks away from poorly-lit lay-bys.

Police revealed there has been just one robbery involving violence since a man was fatally wounded during an attack on a lorry driver in Coleshill at the end of February.

They are adamant that improved and growing intelligence and a series of moves to educate drivers about where to park will guard against the dramatic jump in offences anticipated in the run up to Christmas.

Two men are due to stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court in April 2010 on suspicion of conspiracy to rob after a long-running undercover police operation.

Det Chief Insp Andy Parsons, who has led the force’s HGV crime initiative, said: “The incident in February brought into stark context the reality of what we are dealing with.

“The type of people who target lorry drivers at night in the dark are ruthless but by educating drivers we have made it increasingly difficult for them to operate.”

Last month the force and Central Motorays Police Group launched a ParkWise DVD which is being shown to foreign truckers on the ferries as part of a cross-Continent awareness campaign.

Regular meetings between police and drivers at service stations around the region have also reinforced the safety-first message.

The handful of incidents reported since February have been very different as a result – where once gangs confronted drivers they are now looking to steal loads and make a quick getaway.

“Most of the attacks now involve entry being forced to the lorry in a way that the driver doesn’t even know they have been targeted,” said Insp Simon Westwood, of the CMPG.

“We are looking at ways of tackling this, but if drivers ParwkWise as the DVD says they will reduce the risk even more.”