|
Cargo crimes statistics largely nonexistent
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
Statistics relating to cargo container theft are so sparse that there is no way to define the scope of the problem or even whether the trend in thefts is getting better or worse, according to the American Trucking Associations’ director of security and loss prevention initiatives.
“We get calls all the time, from the media, from trucking firms, even from insurers, and unfortunately all I can tell them is there’s no way to provide an accurate snapshot of the issue,” said Jeanne Dumas, who in addition to her role as director of security and loss prevention initiatives also serves as a member of the associations’ security council.
“Federal law enforcement estimates suggest that the economic impact of cargo thefts nationally is more than $10 billion a year, but we’re really hard-pressed to break it down any more than that.”
The problem, Dumas said, is that cargo theft does not have its own category under the FBI’s 78-year-old Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and as a result, these crimes are captured in a lot of different ways across law enforcement jurisdictions.
Another challenge in accounting for the crimes is that individual states mandate varying degrees of punishment and, in some cases, no minimum penalties at all for cargo theft.
“As a result, we have a lot of anecdotal information, a lot of estimates, but nothing that is statistically valid,” Dumas said.
Earlier this year, the ATA was heartened by the inclusion of two provisions in the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act that will go a long way toward removing the mystery surrounding this class of crimes.
Not only did the reauthorization bill direct the U.S. Department of Justice to create a specific category for cargo container theft within the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, but it also directed the U.S. Sentencing Commission to come up with mandatory sentencing guidelines for cargo theft.
Dumas said the language currently being considered calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in jail for thefts of less than $1,000, and 15 years in jail minimum for thefts of more than $1,000.
“Now it’s going to take a while for these things to come to pass, but I think they’ll go a long way toward improving the tracking of these crimes, Dumas said. “Not only will we have a specified category for these crimes, but I think the sentencing guidelines will provide an incentive to prosecuting the individuals who do this.”
Such a move would be welcomed by far more than the trucking community. Importers and exporters, not to mention ocean-going vessels and air carriers, would also benefit from better tracking of cargo container crime, said Jackie Adamson of Roanoke Trade Services in Charleston.
Adamson has been working for the specialty insurance broker for the past 12 years, writing insurance policies on cargo, although not on the containers and chassis that carry it.
Prior to joining Roanoke Trade Services, she worked 22 years in the field of international freight forwarding. As a result, she offered a perspective on the impact of the crimes that extends beyond what local truckers are experiencing.
“In a sense, dealing with these crimes is really a matter of business continuity and risk management,” she said. “I mean, the liability resulting from lost cargo could be significant to the point to business-threatening if you haven’t taken steps to protect yourself.
“After all, in global trade we all know it’s not a matter of ‘if’ these crimes are going to occur, but ‘when.’ ”
Ironically, federal and international cargo security and transport rules actually increase importers’ and exporters’ exposure to thefts because they require that all cargo be specifically identified on all documentation pertaining to the shipment.
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@setcommedia.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version