Date: 24 July 2002
CRIME BILL IS DOWN ON BRITAIN’S SERVICE STATIONS
New figures released by the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS)
reveal a substantial reduction in the cost of forecourt crime.
BOSS - the organisation that tackles crime at Britain's service
stations - estimates that forecourt crime, excluding credit
card fraud, cost the oil industry £19 million last year
compared to £28 million in 2000, and £35 million
in 1998.
The 2001 BOSS Forecourt Crime Survey shows a reduced cost overall,
as well as in all main crime categories of service station crime
which include drive-offs, burglary and robbery. The only area
which shows a slight increase is theft.
When the new figures are measured against the 2000 BOSS Forecourt
Crime Survey drive-offs cost the industry £12 million
in 2001, compared to £17.1 million, burglary costs £2.7
million rather than £3.5 million, and robbery costs £2
million compared to £2.1 million.
The 2001 Survey was conducted by BOSS using a system developed
by the University of Leicester’s Scarman Centre, which
undertook the 2000 Forecourt Crime Survey.
Mark Cash, BOSS Chairman and Division Manager for Esso company-owned
sites, said: "The overall message is clear - crime is reducing
on Britain’s service stations. Although we have slightly
refined the methodology used to measure forecourt crime over
the last four years this does not change the positive trend
which the new figures show.”
Cash commented: “We have worked tirelessly with police
and petrol retailers to tackle forecourt crime and the new figures
clearly demonstrate that our efforts are beginning to have a
positive impact. It is vital that we do not become complacent
and that we remain vigilant on all our forecourts. BOSS will
carry on developing partnership initiatives to tackle forecourt
crime head-on.”
One area where BOSS and member companies are particularly active
is in trying to tackle the rising level of assaults on forecourt
staff.
“Forecourt crime is not only about lost revenue and assets
- it is about people. Our staff and customers are critical to
our business and we need to protect them both. We will continue
to invest time and money into this important area,” he
said.
David Swift, Deputy Chief Constable of Staffordshire 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 crime - it is, therefore, in everyone's
interests to address and reduce forecourt crime. Police forces
are working with BOSS and petrol retailers on Forecourt Watch
initiatives, which are proving very effective in fighting forecourt
crime. We are delighted with the latest forecourt crime figures
which prove that our partnership approach is delivering results.”
Professor Martin Gill, Director of the Scarman Centre at the
University of Leicester and head of the project's research team,
commented: "This has been the first industry-wide attempt
to assess the true levels of crime committed against service
stations and a number of important findings have emerged. The
construction of the national crime statistics database should
prove an invaluable crime prevention tool for the industry."
Formed in 1991 by the oil industry BOSS is steered and funded
by the leading petroleum companies. BP, ChevronTexaco, Esso,
Jet, Q8, Shell and TotalFinaElf are members. It is supported
by the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), the United Kingdom
Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) and the Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
The aim of the organisation is to reduce the amount of crime
taking place on Britain's service stations. Working closely
with police and petrol retailers, BOSS is responsible for the
Forecourt Watch initiative which operates in over 40 areas across
the UK. It has seen a substantial reduction in forecourt crime
where these partnership schemes are in place.
Ends –
For further information, please contact:
Kevin Eastwood
BOSS
Tel: 01926 864757
Andrew Willis
Scarman Centre
Tel: 0116 252 2458
Kate Broad
Broad Communication Consultants
Tel: 01509 843308/ 07778 057081
