Cash in transit staff continue to face risk, the trade association the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) warns. That’s despite attacks reaching an all-time low in 2013. The trade body points to interim reports for 2014 suggesting some slight month-on-month rises in attacks on couriers.
Transporting around £500 billion every year – the equivalent to £1.4 billion a day – the UK’s cash-in-transit industry performs an essential public service, keeping cash moving around the country. However, the sheer amount of cash makes cash-in-transit couriers vulnerable to robbery and attack.
In 2013, the number of recorded attacks on cash-in-transit (CIT) couriers reached a record low; 270, 30 per cent less than in 2012, and three-quarters down on the high of 1060 attacks in 2009. Couriers remain vulnerable, the association says, particularly when carrying cash across the pavement from a secure vehicle to client premises, whether retailer or bank.
Injury is still a real threat, says the BSIA. Almost a quarter of attacks in 2013 (24 per cent) resulted in some kind of injury, and the proportion of attacks where firearms were used or intimated rose from 10pc in 2012 to 14pc in 2013.
Alongside the Home Office, the BSIA commissioned research to assess the nature of cash and valuables in transit offences. Despite the risk of injury to couriers, offenders still perceive cash-in-transit robbery to be a business crime, with no real impact on people. From interviews with convicted criminals as part of the research, it appears that offenders (especially those younger and newer to the crime) treat CViT robbery as a victimless crime, and use this to justify their actions.
Steve Hurst, Head of SaferCash, a BSIA initiative, says: “For couriers going about their daily duties, these attack figures can never be far from their minds, and it is for this reason that we as an industry, along with our colleagues in Government and police forces across the country, cannot afford to rest on our laurels.”
Established in 2007, SaferCash aims to reduce the number of attacks on cash-in-transit couriers through the sharing of intelligence between the cash-in-transit industry and police forces. Operated by the BSIA, SaferCash provides a national framework for information and intelligence sharing between forces and security personnel, while providing support for cash-in-transit crews who see anything suspicious.
SaferCash looks to identify linked offences and spot where organised crime groups (OCGs) are active across force areas. In the case of cash-in-transit, these groups are operating on an increasingly nationwide basis, it’s suggested, often using the proceeds of their crime to fund other enterprises such as drugs or human trafficking.
As for courier safety, as most robberies and attacks on couriers happen as they cross the pavement, it’s essential to minimise the distance that they have to travel between the CVIT vehicle and the delivery premises – meaning that many vehicles are forced to park illegally to make safe deliveries; particularly in big cities such as London, pictured.
Professional Security reported in its October 2014 print issue that Coalition plans for parking may allow CIT like other vehicles some minutes’ leeway in parking.
For more about the BSIA’s Cash and Valuables in Transit section, visit www.bsia.co.uk/cash-and-valuables-in-transit.
