Over the past few days, the panic buying at fuel pumps has caused absolute carnage at petrol station forecourts. Farsight, as a leading CCTV monitoring partner to both manned and unmanned petrol stations across the length and breadth of the UK, have seen the chaos that this fuel crisis has and is still causing – first hand.
Farsight has a separate team that handle our petrol station clients, and needless to say they have been rather busy!
With anything to do with fuel, one of the key considerations is always safety first. Our remote monitoring operators have seen a massive surge in people trying to fill containers, but often containers that are not fit for purpose which can be very dangerous if left unchecked, like this example:
Police forces and the media across the UK have issued warnings about the dangers of filling incorrect containers with fuel.
We are also on ‘high vigilance alert’ to ensure that our Farsight CCTV monitoring services at petrol stations across the UK helps to prevent theft by unscrupulous fuel thieves, especially outside of opening hours to avoid these types of incidents happening:
> Thieves caught red-handed siphoning fuel from petrol tanker …Leicester Mercury news report.
Of course the protection of staff working at petrol stations from violence and abuse is also crucially important. Incidents like this one for example reported yesterday by the Birmingham Mail:
> Driver ‘abuses staff’ as he tries to fill 10 cans of fuel at Polesworth Garage
You don’t have to search the news media too hard to find examples of thieves taking advantage of the situation, only yesterday Glasgow Live reported that staff were threatened from a petrol station and hundreds of pounds were stolen in a terrifying robbery.
Of course, whilst the above incidents may have been exacerbated by the current fuel crisis, fuel theft is nothing new to petrol forecourts, with BOSS (The British Oil Security Syndicate) estimating that forecourt crime costs UK fuel retailers £88 million per annum. ‘No Means of Payment’ incidents and ‘Drive Off’ incidents (filling up and making off with no intention of making payment) are major contributors to the cost of fuel theft from petrol forecourts.
Now is a good time to optimise security with Monitored CCTV Surveillance
Optimising security at petrol station forecourts is a high priority, especially during these times and CCTV monitoring can be an effective line of defence – see how here: Five Benefits of Monitored CCTV Security.
However, it is no secret that opportunists and criminal gangs seek to profit from national crises like this one, where demand exceeds supply – and it is not only petrol stations that face an increased risk from fuel theft. Fuel theft has been a real issue for the past few years – and one that targets commercial businesses across multiple sectors as well as homes and private vehicles too.
During the fuel crisis, the media has been awash with reports of thefts like these:
> Thieves steal fuel from parked cars by drilling holes into tanks amid petrol panic – Birmingham Mail, 27th September 2021
> Thieves drain community bus in Bradford of fuel – ITV, 27th September 2021
But even before the current fuel crisis, fuel thefts have hit the news and no doubt will continue afterwards too:
Thieves syphoned £36,000 worth of fuel form East Lincolnshire haulage firm –Grimsby Telegraph, July 2021
Fuel Stolen from United Utilities’ Siddick site – Cumbria Crack 5th September 2021
Fuel Thieves target trucks in Gloucestershire – Commercial Motor, July 2020
Who is at risk from Fuel Theft?
Trucks are an easy target for thieves to syphon fuel from whilst on the road leading to HGV crime hotspots being published, outlining ‘at risk’ areas. However, commercial premises operated by transport & logistics firms, hauliers, fleet vehicle and rental firms, construction sector companies as well as agricultural sector firms, rural businesses and farms are at risk from thieves too.
Of course, when talking about fuel thefts, not all fuel is for motor vehicles and machinery. ‘Gas Oil’ such as paraffin, kerosene etc. are also targeted by thieves with approximately 1.5 million households using these fuels to heat their homes and ovens.
Gas oil and diesel is the largest element of fuel used to power agriculture today, with fuel tanks being an attractive prize for thieves. In fact, fuel theft is one of the top crime threats that farms face – see our article:
> Is it time to reconsider Farm Security?
On a smaller scale too, just think – do you have a container filled with petrol for your lawnmower in the garage or shed? If the fuel crisis persists, this could be a target for an opportunists thief. Make sure your outbuildings, sheds or garages are secure. Read: Can your shed, garage or outbuilding weather the crime surge?
How can you optimise your security to help prevent fuel theft?
Effective CCTV monitoring has become a crucial element to consider when optimising businesses security to protect premises, assets and people. So, how does remote CCTV monitoring work?
In our experience, by combining CCTV monitoring with live, proactive audio warnings can be particularly effective in deterring farm security incidents before they progress. In fact, during 2020 Farsight CCTV operators issued a mammoth 119,901 audio deterrent warnings and progressed almost 10,000 incidents to blue light services demonstrating a proactive security deterrent approach rather than a retrospective one.
As a leading UK based remote monitoring station, Farsight works with security systems installers and business sites across multiple commercial sectors to help protect their premises, assets and people with our range of security monitoring services. Our services Include:
We can help to protect what’s yours from theft, fire or malicious damage… we’d love to see how we can work with you to optimise your security…contact us below.
