Smuggling: Freight
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of freight crime on the economy since 2020.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
The Government is aware of the rising frequency of freight crime and the damaging impact it can have on businesses and the economy. The Government is working closely with the police, wider automative industry, and the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) to ensure the response to vehicle crime is strong as it can be.
The National Vehicle Crime Working Group has established a network of vehicle crime specialists, involving every police force in England and Wales, to share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime. The Government is also continuing to work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised crime, which has a vehicle crime intelligence desk covering freight crime.
The freight crime data from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service is:
Year | No. of Offences | Total Loss Value |
2020 | 4,481 | £94.9 million |
2021 | 4,434 | £71.4 million |
2022 | 5,086 | £66 million |
2023 | 5,373 | £68 million |
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