5 February 2001
Forecourt Watch leads to early crime detection results in London

A pioneering crime cutting campaign at petrol stations in South London has produced significant results - thanks to new technology.

Just over one month after Forecourt Watch was launched in the Lewisham area by the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) and the Metropolitan Police forecourt crime in Lewisham has been reduced by 42%.

Fifteen offenders have been arrested for a wide variety of reasons which include suspected possession of drugs, driving whilst being disqualified and driving off without paying for fuel. As well as this 30 people have been issued with summons - the majority of which relate to not having valid road fund tax and not having current car insurance.

Lewisham Forecourt Watch is the first scheme of its kind to use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology in a bid to reduce forecourt crime. The technology, which is operated by police, consists of a portable computer and a high resolution camera. The computer reads every car number plate entering a forecourt, and checks them against a list of known offenders which have previously been reported to the police following drive-offs. If the system shows that the vehicle has been involved in previous crimes the offenders are approached by plain-clothes officers before they drive-off.

Commenting on the scheme Detective Inspector Larry Lawrence said: "We are delighted to see early results and we have high expectations for the scheme's continued success in the future. Offenders will now be forced to think again before committing crime on petrol forecourts in Lewisham."

BOSS Executive Director, Kevin Eastwood added: "This excellent rate of crime detection demonstrates that the partnership approach between BOSS, the Metropolitan Police and petrol retailers combined with the use of new technology has proved to be a winning formula. If this rate of detection continues, as seems likely, it confirms that there are clear benefits for the police to work with BOSS and retailers to reduce forecourt crime. By catching criminals who drive away without paying for their fuel on petrol forecourts police can solve more serious crimes because often the same criminals are involved."

BOSS was formed in 1991 by the oil industry and is supported by the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), Home Office Crime Reduction College and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). BP, Esso, Jet, Q8, Shell, ChevronTexaco and TotalFinaElf are all member companies. The aim of the organisation is to reduce the amount of crime taking place on Britain's petrol forecourts.

For further information, please contact:
Kevin Eastwood
BOSS
Tel: 01926 864757
Sarah Goodall
Metropolitan Police press office
Tel: 0207 2301749

Issued by:
Broad Communication Consultants
Tel: 01509 843308
Ref: BS 01/01