2006 Press Releases
Home Office Agrees Changes to Recording Forecourt Crime (Issued 10th March 2006)
A 10 month campaign by BOSS, the British Oil Security Syndicate, has succeeded in persuading the National Crime Recording Standards Department to make changes to the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime regarding issues of 'Making Off without payment' from service stations.
New guidelines will be adopted from April 2006 and will specifically address "Making off without payment" offences. Currently, crime on Britain's forecourts costs the industry more than £21 million every year. The BOSS success in encouraging the Home Office to adopt new, clearer guidelines comes a result of it's "Forecourt Watch" initiative being regarded as an example of Good Practice when dealing with crime on Britain's 10,000 petrol forecourts.
In April 2005 the Home Office introduced new guidelines for 'Making off without payment' ; an unintended consequence of this was that many police forces treated these instances as civil debt rather than criminal offences. During the last 10 months BOSS has battled on behalf of its members and the oil industry in general by actively campaigning for 'Making off without payment' to be addressed with new guidelines.
A series of formal and informal presentations to senior personnel at the Home Office's National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) department, detailed key areas of concern. The BOSS campaign has been supported by senior officers from West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police, Warwickshire Police and the Metropolitan Police Service and many Force Crime Registrars.
Kevin Eastwood, Executive Director of BOSS said: "The Home Office were receptive and have acknowledged the difficulties that some people have been experiencing regarding the interpretation of the guidelines introduced in April 2005. It also noted that the majority of areas experiencing difficulties with the guidelines did not have measures such as the proven BOSS Forecourt Watch partnership schemes in place.
"The latest guidelines should help to alleviate the present situation and used correctly, hopefully in conjunction with a BOSS Forecourt Watch scheme.
A number of police forces have been receptive to embracing the BOSS Forecourt Watch scheme to further reduce crime in their areas.
"Demand on police time and resources is significantly reduced by these schemes and prolific offenders more easily be identified. This allows police to take appropriate action - which is vital, as this type of criminal is invariably involved with a host of other illegal activities."
Note to editors: For further information on Forecourt Watch schemes, contact Kevin Eastwood at BOSS on 01926 864757, e-mail kevine@bossuk.org or visit www.bossuk.org
Greater Manchester Police Launch New "Making Off Without Payment" Policy (10th March 2006)
Over £16.3 million a year is lost in the UK through motorists driving off without paying for fuel*. Greater Manchester Police is tackling this issue through a new policy on "Making Off Without Payment" that will streamline the process and provide consistency across the force. The new policy, which comes into force on 13 March 2006, will also allow petrol station staff to report the offence when it is convenient for them.
Previously, a uniformed officer would have been called to take statements and obtain CCTV footage. With the new policy, forecourt staff will call the police and a crime report will be taken over the phone. Staff will then fill out a form in their 'Making Off Without Payment' incident pack, which enables the crime to be acted upon in a quicker and more efficient manner.
In addition to a form to record the details of the incident, the pack includes witness statement forms plus exhibit labels for evidence including CCTV footage. When this has been completed the pack is given to the divisional Designated Point of Contact (DPOC) who collates all the information.
Detective Chief Superintendent Steven Heywood from GMP said: "The new policy allows us to streamline the process and provide a force-wide consistency when dealing with this type of offence.
"Also, with a DPOC at each division it means that one person can collate all the evidence and track trends that might be apparent which may have been missed previously, which Tameside, who have piloted the scheme have proved on a number of occasions."
The pilot in Tameside has already detected a number of crimes, including one male who was arrested and admitted to a series of nine drive offs. A second male at his address was arrested on suspicion of burglary as he was found in possession of stolen property.
Detective Inspector Alison Green from GMP said: "The results seen so far from the Tameside division are fantastic and we hope to see similar results across the whole of GMP. Through detections of this type of offence we can look ahead to forging effective links to the Automated Number Plate Recognition system to increase the quality of investigations and detections.
"We have benefited from working alongside the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) who have worked hard to provide us with advice and helping to encourage retailers in GMP to become involved."
John Turtle, BOSS regional coordinator for the North West, said: "BOSS Forecourt Watch schemes in other parts of the UK have shown that partnerships between the oil companies and the police can make a significant impact on reducing crime on petrol station forecourts.
"We will be working closely with Greater Manchester Police and service station operators to continue the campaign against petrol theft and fraud that costs our industry more than £21 million every year. The pilot scheme in Tameside reinforces how successful these partnerships can be"
* This figure relates to estimated UK loss in 2004 based on figures from BOSS members who deal with approximately 4000 retailers out of approximately 10,000 retailers around the UK.
2005
Press Releases
16th July 2005 - "Making Off Without Payment" - BOSS Challenges New Home Office Guidelines
Following serious concerns over new Home Office guidelines for police in dealing with the issue of "Making Off Without Payment" at Britain's service stations, forecourt crime reduction campaigner BOSS (British Oil Security Syndicate) has met with the Home Office in an effort to remedy the situation.
Representatives from BOSS hosted a meeting on 14th June with senior representatives from the Home Office's National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS) department and made formal representation regarding the issue.
BOSS delivered a presentation detailing the areas in which the recent changes have caused considerable confusion and concern. Also making supporting presentations at the meeting were senior officers from West Midlands Police, Warwickshire Police and the Metropolitan Police Service.
As a direct result of the meeting, the problems highlighted by BOSS were discussed at the Home Office - National Crime Recording Standards Steering Group meeting on the 29th June. Following that meeting BOSS understands a letter from the ACPO NCRS lead officer will be circulated to police forces nationwide over the next few days. The letter is anticipated to advise police forces of the difficulties that people have been experiencing regarding the interpretation of the guidance introduced in April, including also the benefits of introducing BOSS Forecourt Watch Schemes and Self Reporting Packs .
BOSS understands that there will also be a meeting of the Home Office Counting Rules Working Group in September, at which "additional guidance" is tabled for discussion, emanating from the BOSS/Home Office meeting of the 14 th June.
Kevin Eastwood, Executive Director of BOSS explains: "The new guidelines are being misinterpreted by some police forces and this is causing our industry serious concern. The new 'additional guidelines' should alleviate the situation and, used correctly, in conjunction with BOSS Forecourt Watch schemes, police forces can take positive steps to tackle the issue of making off without payment at service stations. Prolific offenders can easily be identified, allowing police to take appropriate action - which is vital, as invariably, this type of criminal is involved with a host of other illegal activities."
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