| Fuel thieves targeted at stations | Tue 26th February 2008 |
The BBC reported that some motorists in Cambridgeshire are filling up at a petrol pump and driving off without paying. The Cambridgeshire Police have sent out a warning that they are targeting such criminals.
The fuel thefts have led to more patrols on petrol station forecourts. Although the police have sent out numerous warnings, these are being ignored as there were 125 thefts of fuel in the north of Cambridgeshire last year.
Pc McCallum said "We will be concentrating on filling stations that have been particularly badly affected and that are all in rural areas". Pc McCallum also added "This is often seen as a victimless crime but the cost of thefts are eventually passed on to the public and we treat all forms of threat seriously".
Officers have begun using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology at garage forecourts to target offenders.