CCTV best deterrent to fuel thieves
A HANDFUL of service stations on the Gold Coast are telling motorists to ditch their sunnies, hoodies and hats when filling up to deter fuel theft, but Warwick police crime prevention co-ordinator Constable Sarah Ellis thinks it would make no difference here.
Const Ellis said there were better ways to discourage thieves.
"It's about making it known there is CCTV surveillance around," she said.
"It doesn't matter if they've masked their appearance, we can still obtain the vehicle details and number plates and prove this person was driving the vehicle at that time."
Just last Wednesday, a man took off from the Matilda on the Cunningham Hwy on the outskirts of Warwick with $90 of stolen fuel.
Matilda owner Gina Kerr agreed with Const Ellis saying the removal of sunglasses and a hat would not have made a difference in this case, or others.
She said they had installed a $25,000 security system earlier this year and beyond that there wasn't much else they could do.
