Vertical Markets

Forecourt crime latest

by Mark Rowe

Incidents of forecourt crime increased by 41pc during the third quarter of 2020 according to the latest Forecourt Crime Index from the trade association BOSS – the British Oil Security Syndicate.

The BOSS Forecourt Crime Index is based on No Means of Payment (NMoP) incident reports that are made to BOSS Payment Watch, the loss recovery service. As the economy recovered during the third quarter, drivers returned to the roads and the total number of forecourt crime incidents increased by 41pc, after incidents halved during the second quarter. However the Q3 Index in 2020 is still 15pc lower than at the same period in 2019.

The average number of incidents per site rose by 42pc to 10.3 (7.3 in the second quarter of 2020). While the average litres of fuel taken per incident fell by 0.4pc, compared with the previous quarter. However as the price of fuel increased the average cost per incident in the third quarter increased by 3.9pc to £55.21. The average fuel price during the third quarter was 4.4pc higher at 116.6 pence per litre (111.7 pence in the quarter before).

Kevin Eastwood, pictured, BOSS executive director, said: “Forecourt crime rose steeply as soon as the economy began to recover in the summer. Reports are showing that motorists involved in incidents are increasingly claiming to have No Means of Payment, with fewer reports of driving off from the pump without entering a store.

“During the second lockdown period Drive Off incidents have again fallen, this time by around one third, while the volume of NMoP show no sign of decreasing. The use of cloned plates, while still very low, has seen an upward trend.

“Again we’d strongly recommend that forecourt staff remain vigilant and on the lookout for suspicious behaviour.”

For a free copy of the BOSS Drive-Off Prevention guide, downloaded from the BOSS website at https://bossuk.org/guidance.

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