Sniffer dogs join fight against Midlands and Chiltern main line metal thieves

Tuesday 22 Feb 2022

Sniffer dogs join fight against Midlands and Chiltern main line metal thieves

Region & Route:: North West & Central: Central; | North West & Central

Specially trained sniffer dogs are now being used to track down metal thieves who cause major delays to passengers and freight on the Chiltern main line and key West Midlands rail routes.

Network Rail has enlisted the canine recruits, provided by Search Dogs UK, to crack down on criminals who steal vital cables and materials from the railway and catch those who illegally sell those items on.

A widespread operation is underway to mark railway property with SelectaDNA**, a permanent synthetic solution only visible under special police torches, so metal can be found and identified after it goes missing.

The special DNA spray also has a unique scent which the dogs can detect, leading police directly to any stolen supplies illegally on sale at scrap metal dealers.

Andrea Graham, head of crime and security for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said: “Metal theft continues to cause huge problems for passengers and freight customers at a very significant cost to our business – which is of course funded by the taxpayer.

“We’re always looking at new ways to crack down on criminals and now we have man’s best friend on the case too. Our message to thieves who think they can steal from us is clear – we will find you and bring you to justice, because you’re not only putting your own life at risk by trespassing on the tracks, but also the lives of our passengers and staff.”

Figures released by Network Rail today* (Wednesday 22 February) show that since 2017 there were 22 incidents of serious metal theft on the Chiltern main line between London Marylebone, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Solihull and Birmingham, and rail routes across the West Midlands.

These incidents across Network Rail's Central route caused trains to be delayed for a total of 19,000 minutes - or 13 days - and cost the taxpayer nearly £1m.

The total cost to the taxpayer across the whole country between 2017 and 2022 was nearly £16m and there were more than 330 thefts.

Surprise scrap dealer site visits, in conjunction with the telecoms industry, have been taking place in a week of action to remind traders not to handle stolen metal and of their obligations under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.

By law dealers must ensure traded metal is legally sourced and that sellers’ details are recorded and kept as part of any sale.

Organised criminal gangs are increasingly targeting metal used in infrastructure and exploiting high metal prices.

Superintendent Mark Cleland, British Transport Police national lead for metal crime, said: “We’re working with partners across the entire country and throughout the metals recycling industry to target those who we suspect of flouting the law or operating outside of their licence.

“By taking a multi-agency approach, we are maximising our ability to identify those who are attacking our national infrastructure, making it harder for them to sell stolen metal and gain from their activities. We’re warning would-be offenders that we will take action against them and anyone involved in the theft and trade of metal from the railway will be brought to justice.”

Anyone witnessing suspicious behaviour on or around the railway should report it to British Transport Police by calling 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016.

Notes to Editors

*Network Rail figures railway metal theft 2017-2022

Central route

Year	Incidents	Delay Minutes	Delay Costs (Sch. 8)
2017/18	8	4742	£238,586
2018/19	5	10370	£539,216
2019/20	3	1101	£74,354
2020/21	2	808.5	£42,095
2021/22	4	1835	£81,619
Total	22	18856.5	£975,870

North West and Central region

Year	Incidents	Delay Minutes	Delay Costs (Sch. 8)
2017/18	24	8154	£442,898
2018/19	25	35912.5	£2,368,887
2019/20	14	9470.5	£722,086
2020/21	8	1083.5	£55,358
2021/22	9	5391	£239,796
Total	80	60011.5	£3,829,024

National all regions & nations (North West and Central, Eastern, Scotland, Southern, Wales & Western)

Year	Incidents	Delay Minutes	Delay Costs (Sch. 8)
2017/18	90	67905.33	£2,927,568
2018/19	100	108423.5	£5,512,260
2019/20	58	43587.3	£2,312,561
2020/21	33	10435	£608,811
2021/22	52	60383.9	£4,633,943
Total	333	290735.03	£15,995,144

**More about SelectaDNA

SelectaDNA is a patented, forensic marking solution that harnesses the encoding power of DNA, enabling users to mark and identify items of property and criminals. It’s widely used across the UK’s telecoms network, to mark cable and batteries in particular.

SelectaDNA is identical in composition to the natural DNA found in every living organism on the planet, meaning it is completely safe, and each code is completely unique. The codes are checked against all known biological genomes to ensure that each SelectaDNA code does not occur anywhere else in nature. This provides the security of knowing that every code only exists on the items it has been used to mark.

SelectaDNA is analysed by the same methods as all other types forensic DNA testing, and the codes are recorded on the SelectaDNA Police and Insurance approved database Secure Asset Register, so that a code found on an item of property or criminal can be identified back to a specific owner or location.

For more information visit www.selectadna.co.uk/.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.