CARGO THEFT ARTICLE
numbers are down slightly from 2020. Analysts believe the trend of thefts, however, will not be going away anytime soon. In the third quarter of this year, CargoNet reports a total of 359 supply chain thefts or incidents of fraud in the U.S. and Canada. This represents a 2% decline over the same quarter last year. In addition, there were 294 thefts involving tractor-trailers or other cargo vehicles during the third quarter.
According to CargoNet, 2020 was the worst year for cargo thefts in recent years and this year’s numbers have declined overall yet remain higher than normal. "What we’ll see next year is probably going to be similar to what we're going to see this year, as far as electronics and the same type of commodities," said Keith Lewis, CargoNet vice president of
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operations. "I don't see us coming out of that for a few years." A major reason for so much cargo theft during the pandemic has been that some goods have been in short supply and thieves are able to resell those items for inflated prices, especially electronics, household goods and food. Thieves tend to steal what they can sell. “If it’s popular or if it’s in high demand or if it’s in shortage, they’re going to go after it because they know they’re going to be able to get rid of it quickly, and get a high dollar amount for it,” said Scott Cornell, vice chair of the Transported Asset Protection Association. Stolen items often show up for sale on internet sites or at local flea markets but have usually been stolen with a specific buyer in mind. “A lot of times [thieves] have a buyer already that they have arranged the sale prior to the theft,” Cornell said. “They’re basically on the shopping list for a buyer that they know and they’re going after specific things that that buyer has asked them to target.”
There are two main categories of thieves who go after cargo. On one hand is organized crime—think of the scene in the gangster movie Goodfellas when the mafia brazenly stopped a truck on route to steal whatever they were carrying and then sell it on the black market. Organized crime groups will often do surveillance on future targets and then move in when the time is right. Analysts believe that upward of 80% of cargo theft is committed by organized crime rings. The other category is pilferage, when a thief or group of thieves will grab what they can carry in their truck or car and then flee the scene. These are mostly small-time criminals. Because cargo theft is considered property crime, thieves often face less punishment than other criminal acts. In fact, the public often views cargo theft as a victimless crime. “The penalties for commercial-type crimes are far less than crimes against a person,” Lewis said. “A home burglary is considered a crime of violence.”
January & February 2022
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