The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) – the organisation dedicated to tackling crime at Britain’s service stations – estimates that forecourt crime (excluding credit card fraud) cost the oil industry GB pound 19 million last year. A result that is considerably better than the GB pound 28 million and GB pound 35 million losses reported in the 2000 and 1998 surveys respectively.
The 2001 BOSS Forecourt Crime Survey (conducted using a system developed by The Scarman Centre at Leicester University) shows a reduced cost overall, as well as in all main crime categories of service station crime which include drive-off theft (last reported in News, SMT, January 2002, p10), burglary and robbery. The only areas which show a slight increase are criminal damage and shoplifting.
When the new figures are measured against the 2000 survey, drive-offs have cost the industry approximately GB pound 12 million in 2001 compared with GB pound 17.1 million in the previous year and burglary GB pound 2.7 million against GB pound 3.5 million in 2000. Robbery costs are down from GB pound 2.1 million to GB pound 2 million.
Speaking about the survey Mark Cash, BOSS chairman and divisional manager for Esso company-owned sites, told SMT: “The overall message is clear. Crime at Britain’s service stations is being reduced. Although we have slightly refined the methodology used to measure forecourt crime over the last four years, this doesn’t change the positive trend exhibited by the new figures.”
Cash continued: “It’s vital that we don’t become complacent, and that we remain vigilant at all of our forecourts and stations. For its part, BOSS will certainly continue to develop partnership initiatives aimed at tackling forecourt crime head on.”
One area where BOSS and member companies are particularly active is in trying to address the rising level of assaults on forecourt staff. “Forecourt crime is not only about lost revenue and assets,” stressed Cash, “it’s about people too. Our staff and customers are critical to our business and we need to protect them both. Time and money will be invested in this area.”
David Swift – deputy chief constable of Staffordshire Police and BOSS Steering Group member – added: “We know that the people who are committing crime on service stations are often involved in other, more serious offences. It’s in all our interests to address and reduce forecourt crime. To this end, police forces are working alongside BOSS and petrol retailers on Forecourt Watch schemes, which are already proving to be highly effective.”
