Police and petrol retailers must work closer together if they are to tackle forecourt crime. This was the message from a conference.
Police and petrol retailers must work closer together if they are to tackle forecourt crime. This was the message from a conference that drew more than 350 petrol retailers, and police from 12 forces. Tom Sterling, British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) Regional Co-ordinator for the South East said: ?The number of people who attended the conference shows just how frustrated petrol retailers are at being the victims of crime. We will continue to work with police forces across the UK to make them safer places for staff and customers. Almost inevitably those committing forecourt crime are involved in crime elsewhere.? The one-day conference, sponsored by software firm Arciris and CCTV manufacturer Neurodynamics, at the Metropolitan Police Training School, Hendon, looked at Thames Valley Police initiatives. Other topics included how to deal with ?evasion of liability? attempts (customers claiming they have no means to pay for petrol); Forecourt Watch schemes; and fraud control. Richard Allen-Miles, Commercial Manager for Neurodynamics, spoke on use of automatic number plate recognition. Future BOSS seminars will cover health and safety and credit card fraud, Tom Sterling added.
