A new government pilot scheme to combat the rising threat of organised freight crime has been launched, marking a major milestone for Rachel Taylor MP, who has led a high-profile campaign demanding reform. The MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth has welcomed the move as “significant progress” for local hauliers and the wider UK logistics sector.
Freight crime has become an increasingly urgent issue for operators across the West Midlands, where around one in five of Taylor’s constituents works in transport, warehousing, or logistics. The region relies heavily on freight activity, contributing billions to the local economy and supporting thousands of businesses. However, escalating criminal activity targeting lorries, depots, and cargo is undermining productivity and placing drivers at growing risk.
Image: Rachel Taylor
The new government initiative follows an intense week of national media coverage driven by Taylor, including her appearance on BBC Midlands Today in connection with the BBC’s recent documentary Lorry Crime Exposed. Fleetpoint reported on the programme on 18th November, highlighting the scale and sophistication of freight-related offences.
One particularly striking case featured in the documentary shows organised criminals using the identity of a deceased individual to purchase a legitimate transport company. By posing as a credible haulage operator, they were able to steal £75,000 worth of goods in a single incident. Cases such as this illustrate how organised criminal groups infiltrate the supply chain, exploit regulatory blind spots, and use increasingly audacious methods to carry out high-value thefts.
Taylor has long argued that freight crime has been allowed to flourish partly because the police lack a robust system for identifying and tracking it. Under current crime-recording rules, thefts from lorries are frequently logged simply as “theft from a vehicle”, a category so broad that it includes everything from a handbag stolen from a parked car to the coordinated theft of a full trailer load of commercial goods.
This outdated approach makes it nearly impossible for police forces to assess the true scale of freight-related offences or to distinguish between petty theft and large-scale organised criminality. As a result, forces struggle to identify patterns, allocate resources, or justify investment in specialist teams.
Responding directly to Taylor’s campaign, the government has now approved a new “flagging” trial that will allow freight thefts to be recorded with a dedicated identifier within police crime-tracking databases. This new tag will be used across participating forces to create a clearer national picture of incidents affecting haulage, logistics, and supply-chain operations.
The aim of the pilot is to help forces identify hotspots, recognise emerging trends, and coordinate responses more effectively. The data generated is expected to support better resourcing decisions, influence national-level policing strategy, and guide crime-prevention policies for roadside services, motorway service areas, and high-risk industrial zones.
Although Taylor continues to push for a full, standalone crime code specifically for freight offences—a change strongly supported by industry bodies—she has described the new pilot as a vital step in the right direction.
In a statement following the announcement, the MP said the reform was urgently needed to protect drivers and businesses across her constituency and beyond:
“Last year I launched my campaign to tackle freight crime by tabling a new bill in Parliament, so I strongly welcome this new government effort to ensure the police have the tools they need to crack down on this serious and organised criminality.”
She added that the consequences for local businesses were severe and far-reaching:
“20% of my constituents work in this sector, and there isn’t a single haulage firm I’ve spoken to who haven’t been impacted, which is making drivers fearful and costing local firms thousands.”
Taylor said her long-term priorities remained unchanged: securing a dedicated freight-crime code, increasing investment in security at truck stops, and developing a national policing strategy to address the issue more effectively. She reiterated her view that drivers must be better protected, companies need stronger support, and offenders should face meaningful consequences:
“That’s why I’m continuing to campaign for a new crime code for freight crime, more investment in security at truck stops, and a national policing strategy to deal with the issue so we can put these shameless criminals behind bars where they belong.”
Industry groups have welcomed the announcement, describing it as a long-overdue acknowledgement of a problem that has been underreported and underestimated for years. Many hauliers have expressed frustration that despite the financial and operational impact of freight crime, national crime statistics have failed to reflect the severity of the issue.
By introducing a dedicated tag for freight thefts, the government hopes to improve transparency and ensure that the voices of drivers, operators, and business owners are finally recognised. Police forces involved in the pilot will monitor results over the coming months, with findings expected to shape future policy.
If the trial proves successful, Taylor hopes it will pave the way for a broader overhaul of freight-crime classification, ultimately leading to a stand-alone crime code that would bring freight theft in line with other well-defined and properly tracked offences. The logistics sector has long argued that such a change would help quantify the true scale of losses—estimated by some industry reports to reach hundreds of millions of pounds annually—and prompt greater national coordination.
For hauliers across the West Midlands and beyond, this new initiative offers hope that long-neglected concerns are finally being addressed. The pilot marks a meaningful shift in political and policing priorities and signals growing recognition of the crucial role freight plays in keeping the UK economy moving. With support from both industry and government, the fight against organised freight crime now appears to be gaining real traction.
