Around one in three forecourt operators doesn’t bother reporting drive-offs to police, research indicates.
The straw poll, carried out by Forecourt Trader this summer, asked retailers if they reported every drive-off to police, and while 65% told us they did, 35% of those responding said they did not.
Almost every respondent who told us they don’t report every drive-off said this was due to a lack of police interest, though one retailer said they consider fuel theft part and parcel of petrol retailing, and another said they only report incidents when they feel they have strong evidence of the crime.
Most retailers (65%) said they believe reporting drive-offs to police helps authorities understand how big an issue fuel theft is, while another said they inform police of all incidents in order to feel that they have done all they can to help the causes of justice.
One operator commented that many perpetrators fit false number plates to their cars, and that in their experience police won’t investigate drive-offs when a registration is not legitimate.
The poll of dozens of retailers, conducted in late June 2025, follows earlier research from Forecourt Trader that found roughly 86% of all drive-offs reported to police result in investigations being closed with no suspect being identified.
