Arrests made as InstaVolt’s robust action against cable theft delivers results

  Posted by: electime      14th June 2024

Working alongside the police, InstaVolt’s robust action to prevent cable theft from its rapid EV charging stations up and down the country has resulted in the South Yorkshire force making two arrests.

A woman and man were taken into custody last Wednesday, 5 June, after officers responded to reports of cable theft at the McDonald’s car park on Stonerow Way, Rotherham, where the InstaVolt chargers are located. Cables were cut and damaged at the site, but have already been replaced by fast-acting InstaVolt.

Joanne Levers, 41, and Stuart Riley, 48, have now been charged with theft. A spokesperson from South Yorkshire Police said: “Levers and Riley have been bailed with conditions and will attend a hearing at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 9 July.” No plea has been submitted at this time.

“This arrest has come from the robust action InstaVolt has put in place to deter these thefts” said Delvin Lane, CEO of InstaVolt. The industry leader had bolstered measures to protect the integral EV charging infrastructure; CCTV, security patrols and even the use of SmartWater technology have been introduced across the network to stop thefts and vandalism taking place at charging stations.

And thanks to these new measures, InstaVolt is seeing results. Delvin continued: “We are pleased to see that arrests have been made. Along with the police, we have a zero tolerance attitude when it comes to crime and we will continue to do what needs to be done to protect this vital infrastructure.”
Last month InstaVolt announced it had seen more than 32 instances of vandalism and theft at EV charging sites across the Midlands and Yorkshire, which are being targeted by gangs since November.

“Our top priority is ensuring EV drivers have charging confidence, we’re incredibly proud of network reliability across our network of 1,500+ UK rapid chargers. Offering a rapid and reliable charge is what we’re known for, and we’re here to reassure our customers that’s what they can continue to expect when charging with InstaVolt.”

InstaVolt was quick to react to protect the vital EV charging infrastructure, and that work is ongoing. Delvin said: “We’ve seen these initial arrests happen which shows that what we’re doing is working. We will continue to do what it takes to keep deterring vandalism and theft. The SmartWater technology is used to tag property and we’re utilising other tracking devices to ensure

InstaVolt cables can be identified, this information is then passed to the police.”

The sites are targeted by organised crime gangs, but it’s a misconception that the copper brings real financial gain.

Delvin says the real harm is to drivers of EVs, adding: “When the cables are being cut it leaves chargers unusable and harming critical infrastructure This is affecting EV drivers including healthcare workers and teachers, and risks deterring prospective drivers who want to make the move to electric cars. The cost to industry is running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

The EV revolution is already under way with more than 1,110,000 EVs on the road. InstaVolt’s mission is to make EV charging as easy as possible, and reliability is one of its core values.
Delvin said: “InstaVolt has a proven track record of giving drivers confidence that they will be able to charge their car and we need to see swift law enforcement against the criminals causing disruption to EV drivers.”