Opinion: How to Prevent Cargo Theft
By Bill Anderson
Director, Global Security
Ryder System Inc.
This Opinion piece appears in the July 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
The criminal element responsible for cargo theft has become more sophisticated than ever. A well-executed cargo theft is preplanned and highly coordinated. Stolen goods, managed by organized crime operations, are moved quickly to a warehouse, offloaded, repackaged, remanifested and placed on another vehicle — often before the theft is discovered or reported to law enforcement.
And while there have been success stories with onboard tracking systems, Global Positioning System setups and other common security technologies are frequently defeated as criminals adapt to a hardening of the transportation network.
Inconsistent law enforcement practices can complicate the situation and make it difficult for carriers to know whom to call when a theft occurs. Cargo moves anonymously across the nation’s roads and highways and through jurisdictions with varying resources and abilities to prosecute.
Cargo thieves know that law enforcement and prosecutors are less likely to give cargo theft a high priority when the cargo’s owners, transporters and thieves are from another jurisdiction. In addition, if there is prosecution, the sentences often are less serious than for other types of crimes, such as drug trafficking.
Because of the relative ease of hijacking — and lenient sentencing — cargo theft continues to increase year after year.
According to experts, the cost of cargo theft is estimated to range between $10 billion and $30 billion a year. However, those figures don’t capture the indirect costs associated with theft, including lost sales, production downtime and missed deliveries.
Besides the financial losses, certain industries — for example, alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceuticals — face the risk of their products being sold to minors or being counterfeited. High-tech, high-value products, specifically consumer electronics, also are in high demand.
In this environment, can a business really prevent cargo theft? Probably not 100% of the time. However, there are a number of strategies carriers can implement in partnership with law enforcement to reduce the risk of an incident and mitigate the extent of damages.
First, carriers must ensure that they have an effective, well-planned security program in place. Fundamental security procedures and practices that relate to people, processes and technology should be integrated into daily business operations.
Start with a rigorous pre-employment screening policy. Cargo theft is often perpetrated with inside help, so extensive screening will help weed out those most likely to steal merchandise from a vehicle or warehouse.
A well-trained and alert workforce also can be a carrier’s best defense. Incorporate security awareness into continuing driver and warehouse training programs. Teach employees how to recognize internal conspiracies and suspicious activities, such as:
• Vehicles parked outside a facility or within view of the facility gates and entrances.
• Individuals with cameras (still or video) or taking notes outside a facility.
• Unauthorized personnel on the grounds or walking the perimeter.
• Vehicles (usually minivans or sport utility vehicles) that appear to be following your drivers.
Make sure to establish and document your security procedures — then communicate and en-force them. Basic practices, such as keeping trucks locked and parked in an organized manner on a well-lit facility lot, and communicating to driver teams that one person must remain with the vehicle at all times, can go a long way to help prevent cargo theft.
Knowing your supply chain is also a critically important component of a security plan:
• Be familiar with the drivers who are scheduled to pick up your cargo and verify their identities before releasing a load.
• Be suspicious of unknown individuals who arrive ahead of schedule to pick up loads; communicate with their dispatchers to confirm their identities.
• Monitor delivery schedules and routes and treat any overdue shipments or out-of-route journeys with suspicion.
• Maintain inventory control — unusual changes in inventory levels may help to alert you that something is awry.
• Be sure to limit load information within the facility only to parties who have a need to know.
If an incident occurs, how quickly a carrier reports information to law enforcement can make a significant difference in whether or not the thieves are apprehended and the stolen cargo recovered. It is critical that carriers report all suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately. Criminals can move stolen goods very quickly.
Carriers also should respond to every alarm. Frequent “false alarms,” including attempted entries or break-ins at a facility, may be a sign that suspicious individuals are testing the facility’s security system and law enforcement response times.
Always make sure that your alarm systems are functioning properly and monitored by a central station with updated contact information. Make certain your central station is capable of detecting telephone line interruptions or has a cellular backup.
To help law enforcement officials, carriers must provide accurate data when reporting a theft and verify that a vehicle actually has been stolen, not simply misplaced. Law enforcement will tend to respond more slowly to carriers that have “cried wolf” on more than one occasion. On the other hand, law enforcement can help carriers by responding quickly and entering information correctly into criminal database systems.
The industry, as a whole, also should work with law enforcement agencies to improve categorization of cargo theft data. Often, cargo thefts are identified incorrectly as vehicle thefts — a very different type of crime.
When law enforcement can appropriately and consistently identify cargo theft in their databases, the data will paint a clearer picture of the extent of cargo theft and help agencies allocate their resources appropriately.
Ryder System Inc., Miami, provides transportation, logistics and supply chain management services worldwide.
