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A survey conducted by Sveriges Åkeriföretag in the fall of 2021 shows that many crimes are never reported. “The dark figure” is believed to be large.
Most of the time, these incidents are related to cut tarpaulines, diesel theft and similar incidents that occur during the night, when trucks are parked. Those who indicated that they had reported suspected crimes say that they never received any feedback, or that the case was closed.
This led to the Swedish Åkeriföretag, together with the police, the alarm center and the machinery contractors, joining forces to set up Vägsamverkarna.
Vägsamverkan is a collaborative project aimed at preventing theft crime and thereby increasing safety and well-being along the roads.
The project is based on the same concept as Boat and Neighborhood Watch. Where increased awareness and reported observations from those on the road, not only drivers but also the public, are the cornerstone.
This is why they have set up a dedicated tip-off number 020-315315, which is staffed around the clock.
Examples of tip-offs that can be called to the Vägsamverkan hotline could be unauthorized persons moving among parked trucks at rest areas, vehicles suspected of carrying stolen goods or ongoing thefts – anonymously.
“There are transport thefts several times a day, every day. We want to reduce road crime and protect drivers, vehicles and goods from theft and attack.
We also have indications that business owners often refrain from reporting thefts to the police. The reason often given is that it is time-consuming and complicated to make the actual notification and not “worthwhile” as the case is often closed.
Non-reporting contributes to wrong statistics and not an accurate picture for decision makers on resources and with Road Collaboration we hope to contribute to better decision making.
Sveriges Åkeriföretag naturally wants to contribute to a safer environment for hauliers operating along the roads.” – Liane Ask, Regional Manager South, Swedish Åkeriföretag
Crime scenes
According to the Police annual summary of transport thefts in 2021, the majority of thefts were reported in southern Sweden. The crimes are concentrated around the major transport nodes of Stockholm, Gothenburg and especially Helsingborg.
Northwest Skåne, with Helsingborg at its center, accounts for 23% of all reported thefts in Sweden.
The thefts occur at rest areas and lay-bys along major highways. In the southern part of the country, more or less all rest areas and parking areas without fencing and restricted access are vulnerable to crime.
Foreign trucks particularly vulnerable
Although foreign trucks carry out only 2-3 million transports within Sweden per year, compared to Swedish trucks that carry out about 40 million during the same period, almost half of all trucks exposed to theft are foreign*.
In the Southern Region, which accounts for half of all reports of transport theft, 2/3 of the trucks targeted are foreign.
Police suspect that this is due to the fact that foreign trucks are more likely to park for the day in unsafe locations and more likely to use soft covers that are easy to cut.
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*Source: TRAFA 2020; TRAFA: Foreign truck transport in Sweden 2015-2016.
