The idea of unexpected consequences is well known, perhaps the most famous being the one about a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon jungle, this causing a chain of events that in the end cause a major hurricane to develop in the Atlantic Ocean. One cannot blame the butterfly of course here, but perhaps the same cannot be said about the war against Iran..
You would imagine that Mr Trump and his advisers would have realised that attacking Iran would restrict the ability to take supertankers through the Strait of Hormuz, something that would eventually cause the oil price to increase throughout the World.
That it is of course just what has happened, and this means that the attention of the criminal fraternity will more than likely turn to stealing fuel from businesses once again.
The theft of fuel, either by siphoning from tanks on vehicles or by attacking a fuel bunker on the premises of a business, is nothing new, but as the value of the fuel increases, so does the likelihood of theft.
So what can be done about it, what can a business do to reduce the risks?
There is little doubt that taking steps to protect vehicles and storage areas is worthwhile, as even the ‘simple’ theft of fuel from a lorry can result in broken fuel caps, or worse still damage requiring the replacement of the fuel tank. Either way the vehicle could be made unavailable for use for a period of time, adding yet more costs.
When it comes to the vehicles themselves, there are a number of ways to reduce the risk of theft, or when it occurs to reduce the amount of fuel that is stolen. These include:-
- Parking the vehicle in well lit areas helps, secure areas with CCTV reducing the possibility of theft dramatically.
- Where this is not possible parking the lorry so that the fuel tank is against a wall helps too, thieves always choosing the easiest targets.
- Refueling just before a trip will reduce the level of loss, but not any damage to the vehicle of course. So, if you intend to use this system, make sure you have prominent signage telling all that that the tanks are likely to be almost empty (this is another method of crime displacement).
- Fit good quality locking fuel caps and anti-siphon devices
The amount of fuel that can be stolen from a vehicle is however insignificant when compared to levels that can be taken from a fuel bunker or other large static fuel storage tank.
Whilst it is not possible to stop fuel theft, you can certainly reduce the chances of it happening by following the advice below:-
- As thieves are more likely to target farms and construction sites during the long dark nights of winter, one of the simplest counter measures is that of good lighting, as this is likely to make them think twice about robbing the site.
- Where possible place the fuel tanks as close as possible to the main building of your business or home, making sure it is visible from as many windows as possible as this increases the chance the thief will be seen and thus reduces the chances of them trying anything in the first place.
- If the tank is situated in a building or internal compound, install a separate alarm system to protect it.
- If you can, in addition to the extra lighting, install CCTV and make sure this is monitored by a reliable company.
But there is perhaps, an even better way of making your fuel storage and vehicle park, that bit less likely to be visited by that thief in the night (or in the day for that matter). And it’s a simple cost effective one too.
The answer is to employ the services of a company like Wye Security. We can protect your business assets (or your home) by making sure that any wrongdoer knows that they have a good chance of being caught ‘red handed’ when one of our mobile patrols turns up ‘out of the blue’ and catches them in the act.
And to make sure they get the message, we place our conspicuous signage around your site and back the message up with our highly noticeable patrol vehicles.
This combined with an alarm system or CCTV (our patrols respond when such systems indicate suspicious activity too of course – and much faster than the Police in most instances), ensures the maximum level of protection possible.
Want to hear more about how we can help you defeat the thief? The call us today for a friendly chat. We are ready and able to help.