The Insurance Crime Bureau Signs MoU with Lesotho Mounted Police Service

The Insurance Crime Bureau, and the Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing cross border vehicle related crime, fraud and corruption between South Africa and Lesotho.

The agreement will be driven by a number of clearly defined objectives to assist in the ongoing fight against insurance crime. According to The Insurance Crime Bureau Chief Operating Officer Hugo Van Zyl, “this memorandum will enhance the sharing of information relating to vehicle related crime, fraud and corruption which will be instrumental in the successful reduction, detection, prosecution and conviction related to these crimes”.

The SAICB will work closely with the LMPS to identify and implement preventative and combatting approaches to reduce the opportunities that exist for vehicle related crimes, fraud and corruption. With cross border crime being one of our key focus areas for 2015 we are confident this MOU will be instrumental in identifying patterns related to borderline crossings, identifying and communicating the syndicates modus operandi and more importantly assisting with the successful location of victims stolen vehicles in possession of the LMPS.

Despite endless efforts the conviction rate is often hampered by missing witnesses, suspects and/or accomplices, this MOU will assist in working closely together to ensure these critical components are made aware of their appearances and ensure they are present. As an effective and powerful organisation in the fight against insurance crime the SAICB is constantly reiterating the importance of data, and this MOU will be contributory to sourcing data to assist in identifying patterns and repeat offenders.

Part of this mutually beneficial relationship will see The Insurance Crime Bureau engage in skills transfer to the LMPS Vehicle Crime Unit with a specific focus on identification of vehicles, cloned vehicle identification organised vehicle crime microdotting amongst others.

“While our success rate has been impressive we believe we can only optimise our individual efforts through partnerships and ongoing coordination with other organisations within South Africa as well as beyond our borders”. “Due to the nature of our business we cannot divulge all the particulars as per the MOU but we are in the process of identifying operations which require our urgent attention”, Van Zyl added.