Lincolnshire forecourt owners Kavita and Sanjay Pilani say they are saddened by comments from a senior police officer, who dismissed drive-offs as being committed by people who were ‘not having a great day’.
Kavita and Sanjay, who have owned Empire Garage in Mablethorpe for 10 years, have been plagued with more drive-offs than ever this year, with more than 50 in the past 10 months. Each time, thieves filled their tanks with at least £80-£90-worth of fuel.
Their plight was picked up by BBC News and then further investigated by Forecourt Trader. However, responding to the BBC story, Supt Fran Harrod, of Lincolnshire Police, said the force had “finite resources” to investigate cases and had to prove there was intent to steal.
Supt Harrod told the BBC: “There is an offence of making off without payment. The issue that comes with that particular crime type is whether that is an honest mistake – somebody has filled up; they’re not having a great day and they’ve driven off – or whether it’s not.”
Sanjay told Forecourt Trader that he felt very ‘sad’ about Harrod’s remarks.
“I don’t want to get into a war with the police, I want a partnership with them,” he says.
“If someone is having a bad day I would understand and I would expect them to come back and pay when they’re having a good day but the people driving off without paying at our forecourt aren’t having a bad day; they are using dodgy numberplates and intend to steal fuel.
“I don’t like being told that I am responsible for that. The police should be helping us especially as these drivers won’t just be targeting our forecourt, they will be going to others too.”
Supt Harrod said the force was taking the issue seriously and insisted repeat offenders would be dealt with. However, she added: “In those high-volume incidences when one individual has left a garage without paying, there are numerous options that assist with the finite resources policing have – and perhaps more importantly for the businesses, to get them their money back.”
She urged businesses to report fuel theft so officers can “understand the picture” and “provide preventative support”.
She advised the Pilanis to use a civil debt recovery route and said this would ensure they get their money back within weeks.
However, Sanjay did pursue one drive off case through the civil route and ended up getting the debt paid back at just £5 a month.
Supt Harrod said fuel theft was going up across Lincolnshire, which was why the force was concentrating on “designing out” a preventable crime.
“We’ve got to be as efficient and effective as we possibly can to drive that crime down across the board,” she added, saying that officers had been sent to the Pilani’s to advise on preventative work.
However, Sanjay and his wife weren’t in when they called. The police left a card and Sanjay has tried calling the number on that card several times, but no one answered.
