ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR THE COMPLETE PICTURE?

 Many companies use the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system to provide routine intelligence on the movement of their fleet vehicles, but creative use by fleet managers and investigators can be a lot more illuminating.

1 Don’t believe everything you see

Fleet managers use the GPS system to track fleet movements, but are they getting the full picture?

A Midlands company with a fleet of 150 vehicles used overt tracking equipment recording mileage, speed and fuel consumption.  Most vehicles belonged to the firm’s delivery division.  A divisional audit found drivers submitting overtime claims far higher than equivalent staff elsewhere, but the claims were accepted because vehicle logs supported the figures.

However, that changed when a driver from the division was convicted of evading duty on alcohol and tobacco. A tip-off led Customs & Excise investigators to him and to a garage full of spirits and cigarettes originating from French hypermarkets.  He refused to explain how the contraband was smuggled into the UK, and received a custodial sentence.

Rattled, the Group Managing Director began his own investigation. GPS logs provided basic data which tended to confirm his suspicions. The suspect driver had never deviated from prescribed routes, but always drove for only seven of the eleven-hour days claimed.  Maps created from data transmitted by the tracking unit showed the other four hours were spent in motorway lay-bys.

The Group MD recalled the auditors’ report which highlighted overtime claims from the delivery division’s drivers, and immediately saw the truth.  He engaged an investigation company with the capability to deal with the situation, and authorised covert tracking of the division’s vehicles for a two-week period to ascertain the extent of what was obviously a concerted overtime/expenses fraud.  The tracking units were programmable and individually configured to each vehicle, generating far more detail than the overt units.

Drivers were submitting claims in excess of their actual hours whenever logs showed lengthy stopovers corresponding with the overtime claimed (plus associated expenses).  Several records showed vehicles parking up for around fours hours in an industrial estate close to the main depot.  Seven drivers had claimed necessary overnight accommodation, and their supporting documentation referred to protracted waiting and loading times which prevented a return to the depot; to have done so would have exceeded permitted working hours.  The GPS tracking system though, revealed minimal waiting time and loading was similarly free of delay.  It also showed vehicles moving a short distance from the main loading bays, only to be left inactive for hours before eventually being taken to the overnight stop.

The drivers submitting false claims were a group always seen together at work and socially.  Drivers who were more individual did not submit false claims, and GPS data relating to their vehicles did not show irregularities.
A feature of the case was that drivers were in regular contact with head office via mobile phones.  Managers seeking progress reports contacted drivers who could claim to be anywhere which, as it transpired, meant anywhere but their real location. 

The drivers and their MD were questioned individually.  When presented with irrefutable evidence, they admitted to the overtime and expenses scam, and were rightly fired.  This stunned company staff, but it had the desired effect; overtime and expense claims dropped dramatically.

2 The Untouchable Director

A CEO heard tales concerning one of his directors abusing his position.

After making his own enquires, he felt there was sufficient truth in the rumour, and launched an investigation which soon uncovered several instances of inappropriate behaviour. The director in question was using company vehicles - and in particular the company’s luxury personnel carrier - for his own private use without authority. 

The attachment of a hi-tech covert tracking system to this company vehicle gave an accurate log of its movements, in the UK and abroad.  [NB: When using the device abroad it is important to ensure mapping is available to interpret the information transmitted – this facility is not provided by most rental bureaux].

The people carrier was tracked for a three-week period, during which two day trips to the continent and one long (Bank Holiday) weekend in Paris were highlighted.

Subsequent examination of data quickly established that on all three occasions the vehicle was used without authorisation. A comparison of staff absence records and company records of the vehicle being signed out showed that the drivers at the times in question were the director and his fleet manager.

Aside from the taking of the vehicle without consent, there were the issues of insurance cover, use of company petrol, vehicle depreciation and the man hours found to have been spent delivering the vehicle to the director’s home address!

It emerged that the director had taken his family, the nanny and an aunt to Disneyland Paris, and the fleet manager had made several booze/cigarette runs for himself and other employees. Investigations revealed this had been happening three times a month, unrecorded, and with the director’s full knowledge – and complicity.

When interviewed and confronted with the evidence, both he and his partner in crime offered their resignations.

The use of the GPS system in these circumstances achieved considerable savings for the company, and sent a clear message to employees and shareholders that the company would not tolerate such behaviour.

Had tracking equipment not been used, a standard surveillance team would have been required at far greater cost over the entire three-week period, as no information was available which could suggest when the vehicles would be used.

 3 Where is he now?

The board of a major overseas global distribution company became suspicious that its IT Manager was planning to jump ship.

Discreet enquiries by investigators provided a strong indication that the IT Manager was engaged in setting up and running a private venture of his own, something he had neglected to tell his employer. 

Brief periods of surveillance were authorised on days when the subject had booked annual leave or called in sick.  Nothing significant was learned, as the subject was invariably at home.

Concern deepened after it was discovered he had lied about attending an external client meeting to escape the office.

The investigators suggested the use of covert GPS tracking as opposed to the more expensive physical surveillance, and once this was agreed, made a quick trip to the company’s HQ to covertly attach a tracking unit to the suspect’s company car. Using bespoke mapping software, the investigators were able to view the movement of the IT Manager on a virtual real time basis from its UK office and to provide instant intelligence on the subject’s current location and the premises he visited. Detailed analysis showed a recognisable pattern of behaviour.

On days when the executive reported sick and on days taken legitimately as leave the vehicle remained at home, but whenever he was signed out for afternoon meetings he visited businesses other than his employer’s clients.  These were the clients of his new company.

A mixture of conventional enquiries and a creative use of tracking technology provided a complete picture.  The suspect had set up an enterprise for his own purposes without informing his employer, and indeed, to its detriment.  On days when he was on sick or annual leave he was at home working on projects for his own personal clients, and when he was meant to be seeing his employer’s clients he was actually meeting with clients and potential clients of his new operation.

4 Legal Issues

In all three cases, the covert attachment of the tracking devices were done with the authority of the company, as they owned the vehicles concerned.  The cases highlight legal issues.  Does covert tracking infringe a driver’s human rights for example?  Undoubtedly this could be interpreted as a breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 – the right to privacy. But Article 8(2) states that in certain circumstances, including for the prevention of disorder or crime, it is legitimate to interfere with an individual’s right to privacy.  The key measure to decide if actions are appropriate is proportionality.  Were the companies’ actions in proportion with the need to prevent crime?  This is crucial.  Companies embarking on a course of covert action without first seeking legal advice risk compromising their case.  In the above cases, the companies took care to work within the law and their representatives took appropriate measures to ensure the privacy question did not become an issue.

The other laws relevant to this case are the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), and the Interception of Communications Act 1985.  RIPA permits companies to effectively protect their interests by being explicit in advance about their powers to conduct checks on its staff.  It therefore follows that measures such as specifying in staff handbooks, newsletters, contracts and other communications that the company asserts the right to intercept telephone calls made on company equipment, to monitor the use of e-mail, and to supervise the use of its vehicles would almost certainly satisfy courts presiding over cases where investigators have utilised such techniques.  The proportionality principle would again apply, as would the employer’s diligence in seeking to comply with the law, and active steps to ensure this is done are regarded favourably.

For the Midlands firm in the first case the main consideration was to prevent further criminality in the aftermath of the imprisonment of one of its drivers.  The covert tracking revealed an overtime fraud which contravened Section 15 of the Theft Act (obtaining money by deception).  In the second case the rumour mill caused enquiries to be made, which in turn led to a covert tracking operation which revealed links to misappropriation and misuse of company vehicles and associated evasion of tobacco and alcohol duty, a conspiracy led from the top in the guise of a rogue director.  Finally the moonlighting IT boss was again uncovered through covert means which literally led management to the truth – that he was breaking his employment contract. Incidentally, the rogue director contemplated civil action against his employers later, but his lawyers explained his lack of grounds - a testament to the value of proceeding with an investigation by sound means and obtaining appropriate legal advice before taking action. 

 In Conclusion

GPS tracking technology has become an essential management tool within the logistics industry. The cases above demonstrate both the potential and the results of covert tracking as an investigative aid.

Physical surveillance can provide vital evidence in a legally and ethically acceptable manner, but can be prohibitively expensive.  Advances in technology have made covert tracking a viable and totally effective alternative.

Investigators and fleet managers are now working together to rapidly resolve commercial problems and deter crime.  Decision making should be based on sound information, which such an intelligence gathering technique can greatly improve. It could provide the crucial evidence needed in employment tribunals, civil actions and criminal prosecutions, for example.  Are you on the right track?

About the authors 

John Burrell is the Managing Director of Ovag Limited and has almost 40 years’ experience of investigating crime, both as a policeman and in the private sector. He has been responsible for a number of major surveillance and undercover operations within the logistics industry which have passed into legend.

Ned Pullin is a Senior Consultant with Ovag Limited and served 30 years in the City of London Police, 28 as a detective.  He was a member of the City of London Fraud Squad and the Central Detective Unit, receiving nine commendations.  He also served on the Regional Crime Squad specialising in surveillance operations.  He now concentrates on the deployment and recovery of covert GPS/GMS tracking systems and related investigations.

Contact:   Tel: 020 7484 5533 
Fax: 020 7484 5534  
Please note: Ovag Limited does not offer equipment for sale.