Business, Freight News

Data sharing will cut freight thefts, says TAPA chairman

[ May 16, 2016   //   Chris ]

Chairman of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), Thorsten Neumann, has called for increased sharing of data by law enforcement agencies as cargo crimes in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region reached a three-year high in the first quarter of 2016. He said that the industry already received data on ‘hotspots’ in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden and there was now  a commitment from French police to also share data with TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS). “However, we need much more crime intelligence from across the EMEA region if industry is to help the police tackle this issue,” said Neumann. “Similarly, we are asking more insurers to help us gain a better understanding of the true level of cargo crime, which remains massively under-reported.”

Overall, 444 incidents were reported to TAPA’s IIS in the region in the first three months of 2016, a 115% increase year-on-year. The total loss for the quarter of incidents reporting a value was almost €8 million with an average loss of €74,547.

The highest single loss reported over the three months was the theft of eight pallets of perfume valued at €600,000 from a trailer in Lastrup, Lower Saxony, in Germany.

The lack of secure parking locations was again evident and most freight thefts took place at motorway services, in lay-bys along main highways, or on industrial estates while drivers took their required rest breaks.

Thorsten Neumann added: “We do not know the full extent of cargo crime in EMEA nor globally. We do know, however, that we are barely scratching the surface of the number of incidents we believe are happening in some major countries in our region. The best way to help fight cargo crime is through public private partnership where we all contribute to making supply chains safer.”

Tags: TAPA