Could motorists be forced to pay up before they fill up at petrol stations?
Petrol stations in the Black Country were targeted more than 3,000 times in a year by fuel thieves, with Sandwell the worst hit area, new figures show.
West Midlands Police is now encouraging businesses to operate pre-pay policies to help foil criminals who speed off from petrol forecourts without paying.
The figures show, in 2017, there were 1,070 incidents in Sandwell, 725 in Dudley, 653 in Walsall and 632 in Wolverhampton.
The statistics are from May last year to April this year.
What is being done to tackle the crime?
West Midlands Police lead for business crime, Superintendent Harvi Khatkar, said: “We work closely with petrol station managers and the British Oil Security Syndicate on tackling this issue.
“While encouraging businesses to take steps to minimise the likelihood of them becoming a victim – such as operating a pre-pay policy and installing good quality CCTV – we also routinely share images of fuel theft suspects on our Flickr and Facebook pages so that people can help us track down offenders so that we can bring them before the courts.”
The figures show the number of bilking incidents across the Black Country has decreased across the year. In May last year there were 353 incidents of petrol theft, compared to 265 in April.
The Association of Convenience Stores this year created a guide for retailers in a bid to prevent fuel thefts, and what to do when offences occur. In it, it claimed the annual cost of bilking to UK stations is £19million.
Forecourt attendants are advised to look out for customers concealing their face or using a pump furtherest away from the store.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Fuel retailers make every effort to prevent fuel theft from their sites by investing in CCTV, automatic number plate recognition and staff training.
“We hope the guidance we have produced will support retailers to prevent fuel theft and help them build closer relationships with the police to catch offenders and deter others from trying.”
Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism, Sarah Newton MP, said: “Fuel theft harms businesses, consumers and communities.”
