Clearview National July 2017 - Issue 188 | Page 110
VEHICLES
‘Top Five’ tips to vehicle fleets
as thefts from vans increase
» » ARVAL IS RELEASING
new advice to vehicle fleet
operators in the light of reports
that thefts from vans are rising
rapidly.
New figures obtained by
the BBC from 30 police forces
show that thefts from vans
have increased from 14,063 in
2014/15 to 22,749 in 2016/17.
A van is broken into every 23
minutes.
Paul Marchment, SME
Development Manager, explained:
“These figures are consistent with
what we are hearing from fleets at
the moment. In our experience,
van crime tends to occur in cycles
and our feeling is that we are on
an upswing.
“What tends to happen is that
thieves devise a new method of
breaking into a van, operators
adopt ways of preventing it, and
there follows a decrease in the
crime. Then, new techniques start
to appear, and the whole thing
happens again.
“The nature of the work that
they do, with tools and materials
often unavoidably left in the
van, fleets are very prone to this
kind of crime. This is true from
one man operators to major
corporations.”
Paul said that current methods
of theft involved using tools to
break through the structure of the
vehicle or obtaining commercially
available transponder keys to
open vans.
“Manufacturers are trying
to increase payload and one
method is to reduce the weight
of the van by using lighter steel.
Unfortunately, this means it is
easier to use tools to cut through
the fabric of the van or to bend
door frames.
“Also, manufacturers have done
much to reduce the effectiveness
of transponder keys on newer
models, however, they are still
affecting some vehicles that
currently remain on construction
fleets, especially among SMEs.”
110 » JUL 2017 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
While Arval acknowledges
that there isn’t a single perfect
solution to avoid being the
victim of crime, the leading
vehicle leasing company has
created five tips to van security to
help customers mitigate the risk
of theft:
1. FIT THE RIGHT
SECURITY EQUIPMENT
There are a range of options
available with popular solutions
for fleet vehicles including slam
locks and trackers. Look at which
will be the best way to protect
your van and make it difficult,
noisy, or time consuming for
thieves to get in.
2. PROTECT THE KEYS
Modern locking systems make
it comparatively difficult to break
into many vans through the
locks, so thieves often target the
keys. Ensure that drivers keep
them secure and out of sight at
all times.
3. SELECTIVE BRANDING
A heavily liveried van is a
good advertisement for your
business – but also an indication
of what is inside as criminals
can target certain industries or
even companies. If you are being
targeted by thieves, adopting plain,
white vans might be a good move.
Major fleets have certainly done
this in the past.
4. PARK THE VAN IN
A SENSIBLE PLACE
If your vans are being left for a
long period of time, especially if
drivers take them home or park
them in hotel car parks overnight,
make sure that it they are parked
close to an occupied building or in
a conspicuous, well-lit location.
5. GET THE RIGHT ADVICE
Making your vans more secure
can be an expensive business. You
can easily add up to £1,000 to the
cost of a van in locks and other
security-related items. Make sure
that you are getting professional
advice, and utilising relevant
information, that will enable you
to fit the right equipment to the
right vans operating in the right
areas.
Paul continued: “We work very
closely with businesses to examine
the kind of crime that is affecting
their fleet and come up with the
best solutions. This can range from
knowing which kind of locks work
best on a particular model of van
to interrogating insurance statistics
to identify which of your vehicles
are operating in high-risk, high-
crime areas.
“Unfortunately there is no
one-size-fits-all solution, but there
are certainly several steps that
businesses from the smallest to the
largest can take to mitigate the risk
of falling victim to van crime.”