Incidents of forecourt crime recorded by the trade body BOSS fell by 4pc during the final quarter (Q4) of 2018. The BOSS Forecourt Crime Index is based on No Means of Payment (NMoP) incident reports that are made to BOSS as part of its Payment Watch scheme. During the last quarter of 2018 the BOSS index fell to 153 (160: Q3 2018). The index was set at 100 in the second quarter of 2015.
BOSS point to a combination of factors. Incidents per site fell by 4pc during the quarter; the average fuel price fell by 0.3pc to 131.1 pence per litre (down from 131.5 the quarter before). The average litres taken per incident rose to 39.8 (from 37.5 the previous quarter). As a result the average initial loss per incident rose to £52.15 (compared with £49.32 the previous quarter).
During 2018, the average number of incidents recorded per site was 31.8 (compared with 25.1 the year before) with an average incident value of £47.81 (£41.73 the year before), resulting in the average initial loss per site, before any BOSS Payment Watch recovery, reaching £1,521 (£1,048 in 2017) for the year.
Kevin Eastwood, BOSS executive director, pictured, said: “Increases in fuel prices have contributed to a rise in the average initial loss, before BOSS Payment Watch recovery, of more than £1,500 per site during the year. It is positive to see the average number of incidents start to fall during the second half of 2018 as BOSS has worked hard to tackle forecourt crime. These efforts have seen the BOSS Payment Watch initiative help to recover more than £8 million during year on behalf of retailers.
“Any loss is unacceptable, and BOSS will continue to promote stronger partnerships between retailers and police forces. These can reduce losses for retailers, reduce demands on police time, and bring persistent offenders before the courts. We still need retailers to remain vigilant and take responsibility to ensure that, where incidents do take place, the correct evidence is collected and retained.”
Forecourt crime is estimated by BOSS to cost retailers more than £30m annually; some two thirds of crime due to ‘drive-offs’ and the remainder from NMoP incidents. BOSS reports that since Payment Watch was introduced more than £5m of NMoP losses have been recovered and returned to retailers.
BOSS will be attending the Forecourt Show 2019 at the NEC on April 8 to 10 where it will be holding one-to-one ‘crime reduction clinics’. To book an appointment visit www.bossuk.co.uk.
