Operators are being urged to 'use or lose' TruckPol as the freight crime body faces an uncertain future. Following a poor response to HGV security firm Viper Guard's online petition ('Security firm battles to save TruckPol funding', CM 20 November 2008), urging the reinstatement of Home Office support for TruckPol, it has been decided to run the poll again as a last attempt to remind operators that they could lose the intelligence unit.
Just 300 people signed the petition which ran between November and December 2008. General manager at Viper Guard Debbie Jones expects a Home Office response in early February: "The government are very good at saying they will look at polls and if there were 3,000 signatures that might make a difference, but we only had 300."
Don 
Armour, manager of fleet information at the Freight Transport Association (FTA) adds: "As signatories ourselves, we are disappointed that the petition did not get more support, especially as TruckPol is the only organisation of its type." CM revealed last week that TruckPol, the CV division of the Association of Chief Police Officers' Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, (ACVIS) it to appoint a new head of unit, despite questions over its funding.