Police vet yard security levels
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• Police have begun vetting security at around 70 haulage yards in Felixstowe in a new drive to cut truck crime.
Each yard is being assessed for the quality of its perimeter fencing, locks, lighting and CCTV, as well as the way access by vehicles and pedestrians is controlled.
Owners are then sent a list of recommendations to Improve their security rating which may eventually be passed on to shipping lines and insurers.
The approval scheme was initiated because the town suffers the highest level of container theft in the country.
Tony Allen, chairman of the Road Haulage Association security committee and a member of the local supply chain security group, believes it is the first time such an initiative has been tried in the UK.
"A lot of these ideas never come to fruition. it is in direct response to an identified problem."
Detective Sergeant Daye Goddard, local crime reduction officer, believes joint action by hauliers may be the best way of improving their security rating.
"A lot of yards are alongside each other and could achieve great things together. As individuals, they may not be able to afford to meet the recommendations. At the end of the day, it all hinges on cost. Haulage is a cut-throat business and lots of people are having a tough time."
She adds that the assessments, which are being conducted by crime prevention officers, are due to be completed in two months in all the main yards around the pert.