CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2019 27 PLANT THEFT: 2 Details of how the plant hire industry is fighting back against theft and fraud were graphically given by Iain Anderson , the Joint MD of the GAP Group. He helpfully shared details of how this prominent CPAmember had been duped in the past by clever criminals who have cloned genuine companies in order to give the impression of an established business with a good trading history. Iain Anderson revealed that the cost of fraudulent hires to GAP was £60,000 in 2016 rising to £160,000 last year and, by the beginning of November 2018, it was £120,000. To counter such criminality, GAP now conducts very stringent checks on new accounts to weed out bogus companies and suspect individuals. As a result, around 20% of new credit applications are currently being declined. At the Conference all hire companies were urged to avoid fraudulent hires by carrying out very thorough credit and Companies House checks, taking trade references andmaking a physical visit to the potential customer’s premises (or insisting that the person wishing to open an account visits the hire depot to present identification and to be recorded on CCTV). Iain Anderson also called for more intelligence sharing between hire companies. Like other hire companies, GAP has suffered thefts from its depots after some audacious break-ins. To illustrate the brazen acts of determined criminals Conference delegates were shown dramatic CCTV footage of a van being rammed through the roller shutter doors of a plant hire depot to gain entry and steal equipment. In another incident, thieves climbed through an energised electric fence by separating conductors with wooden poles before smashing a hole through the wall of a building to gain access to the valuables locked inside. In retaliation, GAP has now increased the perimeter fortification at its more vulnerable depots with the addition of enhanced protection (using anti-ram concrete blocks, Armco barriers, razor wire and superior electric fences). Gates have gained additional security barriers and padlock protection boxes and roller shutter doors have been better shielded with bollards. Another thought provoking presentation was made by Peter Thompson - the MD of CanTrack Global Ltd. He revealed details of devices that can be readily obtained by criminals to help them steal plant and vehicles. Having carefully checked out these tools, his data and security solutions company has been busy developing counter measures. So as not to help criminals, Peter Thompson does not discuss details of the latest CanTrack technical solutions. But he confidently contends that it is now almost impossible for thieves to scan a CanTrack Asset system. As well as selling its clever battery powered asset-tracking devices, CanTrack Global provides a national in-house team of former Police officers as Investigators to physically go and find stolen plant. According to Peter Thompson, this combined approach results in a 92% recovery rate. The approach to security on the 345 mile long HS2 high speed railway construction project between London and Birmingham was outlined by Richard Jordan - the scheme’s Chief Security & Resilience Officer and Ian Kelly - the Senior Security Threat Assessment TeamManager. They are now involved in coordinating the delivery of security related elements into the design and build process as well as providing agile specialist security services to protect vulnerable assets and personnel as well as being able to respond to incidents and manage crisis. A specialist security services provider will support HS2’s response to physical security, personal security, incident response, risk management and reduction, and information gathering. The project will have Security and Safety Support Vehicles operating 24/7 from three strategically located hubs – one in each HS2 Phase One Area close to the line of route to allow a swift response to incidents. HS2 intends to create a “Data Link” through IT to bring together all relevant information from suppliers. This will include comprehensive details of all the plant and vehicles on the project including their locations and movements. Different levels of security will be applied in areas where higher threats have been identified. Other presentations at the Conference included ‘Protecting workers from exploitation’ by Samantha Ireland of the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority and ‘Modern Slavery - are you confident that you are not supporting it’ by Detective Sergeant Helene Miller of the Metropolitan Police Human Trafficking Unit. The need to create a confidential environment where employees feel able to become Whistleblowers to report wrong doing by their colleagues was covered by SimonWooderson - Balfour Beatty’s Head of UK Business Integrity. The 2018 CITS Conference was sponsored and supported by Balfour Beatty, CanTrack, Cifas, CPA, Datatag, Enigma Telematics, the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority, GAP Group, the Home Office, Lombard, the Metropolitan Police PANIU and Public Concern at Work. A number of these companies and organisations had display stands where Conference delegates could gain more information during the breaks between presentations.