Could the newly implemented post-Brexit border check fuel cargo crime in the United Kingdom?
Port Dover, United Kingdom - trucks waiting to board the ferry over Canal La Manche (North Sea/Atlantic Ocean). Image: iStock
21 May 2024
The UK introduced new physical checks for ‘medium’ and ‘high-risk’ animal and plant products in April 2024, as part of the post-Brexit Border Target Operating Model. However, glitches and delays in Dover and at the Channel Tunnel have raised concerns about the impact of these procedures on road transport operations as the country continues to be one of the primary European cargo crime hotspots.
By Jeanne Albin, LandRisk Manager
On 30 April 2024, the United Kingdom’s new Border Target Operating Model went into effect, bringing physical checks at the border for imported ‘medium and high-risk’ animal, plants, food, and feed products from the European Union. Whilst the introduction of these measures effectively ended the imbalance between the two regions following the application of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, they have not come without criticism and objections.
At the forefront of these is the concern expressed by operators that the implementation of the new checks could lead to long delays at the border—an understandably important concern for those carrying perishable goods but also for those familiar with the industry’s infamous maxim cargo at rest is cargo at risk. Thus, as emerging reports indicated that only one facility, located a surprising 35 kilometres (or 22 miles) inland, in Ashford, would conduct inspections on vehicles arriving through the English southern ports and the Channel tunnel after 19:00 LT, many operators and industry organisations became concerned about the possibility of trucks being targeted by criminals if drivers are forced to interrupt their journey and make unplanned stops in inappropriate, unsecured parking locations.
These apprehensions were inevitably exacerbated by reports questioning the facility’s capacity to handle the significant inflow of vehicles to process in the weeks leading to the controls’ implementation, and reports of major delays brought on by IT system failures during the first two weeks of May 2024—and that as the government announced committing to an initial ‘soft’ and ‘pragmatic’ approach to the controls’ launch to avoid any brutal disruption to the supply chain.
Whilst one could argue that these troubles are but temporary, it would be unwise to brush away these concerns, as they do span from an unfortunate reality: the UK remains one of the major cargo crime hotspots in Europe. In fact, in 2023, it represented the country with the second highest number of incidents recorded on the Risk Intelligence LandRisk Logistics System (second only to Germany), and high cargo crime incidence is locally upheld by highly motivated and resourceful organised crime groups who do not hesitate to take advantage of new opportunities to facilitate their criminal activity. Additionally, data is very clear in highlighting two particularly relevant points: food products are a highly sought-after commodity (particularly as the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact British households), and, most cargo theft incidents targeting vehicles occur at non-secure sites, such as motorway rest and service areas.
In this context, if governmental actions do not manage to fluidify the particularly important flow of vehicles operating through the potential bottleneck that is the southern coast of the UK, the sheer volume of targets of potential interest to criminals involved in organised cargo crime congregating in the area daily, coupled with the very real problem that is the limited number of local, secured, low-vulnerability parking options (only four assessed as such in the Dover-Ashford corridor on the LandRisk Logistics System), the region is likely to become a new cargo theft hotspot. Leaving aside the many politically or emotionally charged discourses displayed by the major actors discussing these new controls, it is thus perfectly understandable for operators to question the practicality of these measures and request that infrastructures and procedures be set up to enable quick and efficient controls, that prioritise the security of both drivers and cargo.
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