An adjournment debate in the House of Commons has seen significant support being given to the joint campaign to combat cash delivery crime, report the organisers, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and the GMB trade union.
The debate was secured by Ian Austin MP (Dudley North), who has been a supporter of the campaign, the BSIA and GMB report. He said that the men and women who work as cash-in-transit couriers are "performing a service vital to the interests of the public and the UK economy". He recalled the fuel protests in September 2000, saying "we would face a similar situation" if cash delivery was disrupted.
Andy Burnham, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office and MP for Leigh, said that the Home Office "believes that such crimes are very much crimes against people" and that reclassifying the crime from a business crime to a human crime is "under active consideration". They will also encourage police forces to "look at best approaches and tactics" and address "practical things" such as "when they arrive at a location with cash, are we speeding it through the branch?"
Other MPs who engaged in the debate included Linda Waltho (Stourbridge) who said that the human side is "a forgotten cost of such crimes". Michael Foster (Worcester, the home town of the BSIA) congratulated the BSIA and the GMB trade union for "the way they have come together on this campaign", an endorsement that was echoed by Andy Burnham, Ian Austin, Jim McGovern (Dundee West) and Ed Balls (Normanton).
What they say
David Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BSIA, says: "We are very encouraged by the comments made by all MPs who attended the Adjournment Debate. We are also pleased to hear Andy Burnham reiterate the commitments made by the Home Office Minister of State, Hazel Blears, earlier in the year. We now look forward to positive action to combat the rising number of attacks."
Gary Smith, GMB National Officer, said: "Every working day there are an average of two robberies where GMB members are subject to attack and are injured by criminal gangs. The crime of attacking cash-in-transit vehicles needs to be reclassified from a business crime to a crime against the person, and the criminal must be severely punished."
CIT attacks have continued to rise this year, with a 12pc increase in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.
Facts and figures
There were 836 CIT attacks in 2005, a 10pc increase in the number of attacks in 2004 and a 20pc increase compared to 2003. Some 208 of these attacks involved a firearm and 170 couriers were injured. Couriers suffered shootings, stabbings, pistol whippings, beatings, broken bones and post-traumatic stress. Six couriers and a member of the public were shot by criminals during these attacks. There is an estimated £500 billion transported each year, which equates to £1.4 billion a day. The CIT industry deploys over 8,000 couriers in a fleet of 4,000 vehicles. Over £100 million per year is invested in CIT security equipment and procedures. CIT is the only private security service included in the Civil Contingencies Act (that’s what the authorities will do in case of a ‘civil contingency’ from a flood to fuel-protest as in 2000 to a terror attack).
