Law enforcement agencies, insurers, manufacturers and logistics service providers are being asked to share cargo crime intelligence with the Transported Asset Protection Association’s (TAPA) Incident Information Service (IIS).

TAPA says this is needed to address the issue of under-reporting of thefts in countries across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

TAPA’s call for action comes as its latest data for thefts from supply chains in the region in quarter three (Q3) of 2016 shows a total of 489 newly-recorded losses, more than five a day and up 105.4 per cent year-on-year.

The total loss figure for the 46.8 per cent of crimes reported with an actual value to TAPA’s IIS in the three months ended 30 September was €19,883,639. This included 28 incidents involving a loss of more than €100,000 and a biggest single loss of €4 million of Jewellery/Precious Metals from a vehicle while en route in Arezzo, Italy, on 11 July.

The average loss for crimes with a value in the quarter was €86,828 as TAPA recorded incidents in 25 countries in EMEA.

TAPA EMEA chairman, Thorsten Neumann says: “Of all the cargo thefts reported to our intelligence database, only around five per cent are from TAPA members because generally their supply chains are far more resilient because of the steps they take to protect their products during the transportation process.

“The growth in the number of recorded cargo crimes is an industry-wide problem and using intelligence is the best possible way to avoid becoming a victim. However, there are still many countries, such as France, Germany, Italy and South Africa, where we believe the majority of thefts from warehouse facilities and trucks are not reported to our IIS.”

He highlights that all cargo crime information sent to TAPA’s IIS is verified before being added to its database and, just as importantly, no company or individual’s names are ever included in the data: “We simply want to know where a crime has occurred, the type of incident, the modus operandi used by thieves, and the products targeted in the attack.

“The information we receive comes from a wide variety of sources, including law enforcement agencies, insurers and the media as well as manufacturers and logistics service providers and we urge anyone with any relevant intelligence to send it to us at iis@tapaemea.org.”

The willingness of law enforcement agencies in the UK and the Netherlands to share cargo crime data with TAPA’s IIS to help its members prevent thefts from occurring means both countries continue to feature at the top of EMEA’s list of freight theft ‘hotspots’.

However, TAPA has warned that the level of risk in the UK and Netherlands may be no greater than in a host of other countries where a reluctance to share intelligence results in a lower, but often misleading, level of recorded crimes.

In Q3 2016, 204 incidents of cargo crime were reported in the UK to TAPA’s IIS, the Netherlands recorded 104 thefts, and Sweden 53. Over the three months, 49 further losses were reported in Germany, while Italy and South Africa both featured in 10 new incidents added to the IIS database.

The willingness of law enforcement agencies in the UK and the Netherlands to share cargo crime data with TAPA’s IIS to help its members prevent thefts from occurring means both countries continue to feature at the top of EMEA’s list of freight theft ‘hotspots’.

However, TAPA warns that the level of risk in the UK and Netherlands may be no greater than in a host of other countries where a reluctance to share intelligence results in a lower, but often misleading, level of recorded crimes.

In Q3 2016, 204 incidents of cargo crime were reported in the UK to TAPA’s IIS, the Netherlands recorded 104 thefts, and Sweden 53. Over the three months, 49 further losses were reported in Germany, while Italy and South Africa both featured in 10 new incidents added to the IIS database.

Incident reports for the quarter also continued to highlight the wide range of products being targeted by cargo thieves. Food & Drink was the TAPA IIS product category with the highest number of recorded losses, 53 or 10.9 per cent of the Q3 2016 total.