Cargo Theft Crackdown

The California Highway Patrol has estimated over $1,000,000 per day is
lost through commercial vehicle theft in California.  According to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, cargo theft costs the transportation
industry $3 billion to $10 billion in losses annually.

In 1993, AB 813 was enacted into law.  This bill was sponsored by the
trucking industry as an attempt to provide additional funding for
enforcement of cargo thefts.  Funds are appropriated annually to the CHP
for the administration of the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program (CTIP).
Initially, the program started in Los Angeles, with a special
enforcement team called ‘Cargo Cats’ made up of local police, sheriff
and CHP.  Contributions were also made by the trucking industry.

These types of thefts are conducted by very sophisticated criminals and
are well orchestrated.  Unfortunately, it has become big business for
these criminals at the expense of the trucking companies.  Originally,
the CHP determined that 97% of reported cargo thefts occurred within
three regions in California.  Based on this determination, the CHP
assigned one sergeant per region: the Border Division, Golden Gate
Division, and the combined Inland/Southern Divisions, thereby
establishing the CHP Cargo Theft Interdiction Program (CTIP).  The CHP
claims these cargo thefts are becoming more numerous and are now
occurring in all regions within the state.  Weapons are used in many of
these hijackings, and many drivers have been injured.
 
Recently, UHCA President David Barnes  raised the question of
accountability with the CTIP.  His concern with the program centers
around the fact that although all carriers in the state of California
pay equally into the CTIP program when they register their vehicles, not
everyone  receives the same level of responsiveness.  For example, a
carrier in Los Angeles or San Diego is more likely to have their stolen
cargo, trailer, or tractor recovered in a more expeditious manner than a
carrier in Redding or Ukiah.
 
As a follow up to our request for more information, UHCA met with
Sergeant Harvey Smith, the statewide coordinator of the CTIP Program.
At the meeting, we were given an overview of CTIP state-of-the-art
computer system.

Sergeant Smith logged onto the Cargo Theft Reporting Database to
demonstrate its capabilities.  A switchboard popped up with query and
report options.  Sergeant Smith uses this database to view all reported
cargo thefts in California from 1995 to 1997.  He can also narrow the
search to view all reported cargo thefts involving injury to the
drivers.  He can go one step further and narrow the search to view all
reported cargo thefts in Southern California involving injury to the
driver between the months of June and December.  With the CTIP Cargo
Theft Database, the CHP has a powerful resource for investigating cargo
theft patterns and target zones.
 
Eventually, the CHP  will be able to use the CTIP database to view
profiles on cargo theft suspects and convicted criminals.  Much like
“Megan’s Law,” (the database for registered sex offenders), the CHP will
be able to access files on these leads simply by typing in a city, zip
code, or even a street name.  By combining these suspect files with the
trend analysis features of the existing CTIP Cargo Theft Database, the
CHP will be able to generate a report listing all of the convicted
robbers living within a 5-mile radius of the latest trailer theft.

By processesing and evaluating the raw data fed into the CTIP database
by carriers, the CTIP will be able to determine how cargo theives
operate, recognize certain kinds of scams, pinpoint locations where
hijackings are most prevalent, and discover safer locations for freight
terminals.  This trend analyis will allow law enforcement and carriers
to be more pro-active in dealing with cargo theft before it happens
rather than reacting to it after the fact.  Major computer companies,
such as Intel and IBM, have expressed a willingness to donate their
expertise out of a vested interest in winning the growing battle against
cargo thieves.

There is only one limitation to the CTIP Cargo Theft Database.  The
database can only be effective if members of the trucking industry
report every cargo theft.  Sergeant Smith stated, “As with any database:
Garbage in, garbage out.  If private industry does not report all cargo
thefts on a timely basis, the statistics and trend analyses we generate
from the database will likewise be inaccurate.”  To ensure that the
limited resources available for implementation of the CTIP are utilized
in the most efficient way, the trucking industry must provide the CTIP
with timely, accurate and detailed information concerning the rate, type
and value of cargo being stolen statewide.  For CTIP to realize its full
potential, private industry must cooperate with the CHP in compiling raw
data on cargo theft by reporting these crimes immediately after they
occur.

Until recently, cargo theft reporting has been a major stumbling block
for the CTIP program. There was no central repository for stolen cargo
and vehicles as they relate to the trucking industry in California.
Cargo thefts would sometimes be reported under four or five different
crime listings, lumped in with regular thefts and burglaries, or as
armed robberies if a weapon was used.  Cargo theft was categorized as
auto theft if a trucker’s rig was stolen.

Even after the CTIP database was up and running, members of the trucking
industry simply refused to participate.  According to Sergeant Smith,
“Often times, private industry won’t report stolen cargo because it
damages their reputation of being able to deliver a product from point A
to point B reliably.  Besides putting the quality of their service in
doubt, these trucking companies figure they have to absorb the costs of
the cargo theft regardless of whether or not they report it to the CHP,
and that reporting is simply another demand on their time.

Carriers also worry that insurance companies will isolate companies hit
with a number of thefts and charge them higher premiums.”

The CHP is hoping to increase the effectiveness of the CTIP Database by
increasing awareness in the trucking industry of the program’s success.
Since its inception on January 1, 1995, the CTIP has recovered a
whopping $23,000,000 in stolen vehicles and cargo.  CTIP has a 97%
success rate in recovering stolen commercial vehicles.  It is hard to
question the cost effectiveness of CTIP based on these statistics, as
the trucking industry has invested less than $4 million into the CTIP
over four years through PUC registration fees.

The CHP furnished UHCA with maps of the 8 geographical regions of the
CTIP within California, as well as the regional contacts.  Please remove
or duplicate this page from your newsletter and display it in a
conspicuous place.  By doing so, you and your employees will have
information at your fingertips should you need to report any cargo
thefts to the CTIP.
 
In addition to the statewide efforts of the CHP through CTIP, there’s a
new weapon available to trucking companies and law enforcement agencies
called CargoTIPS, short for Cargo Theft Information Processing System.

CargoTIPS is an Internet database that allows subscribers to enter cargo
theft reports and search for trends and investigative efforts. It also
lists the top commodities being stolen, along with the states and cities
where most cargo thefts are reported.

Online since March of this year, the system is updated automatically 24
hours a day and is designed to take in international data and theft
reports from all modes of transportation worldwide.  Federal, state and
local law enforcement agencies get full access to CargoTIPS for free.
Others are charged subscriber fees.  For-hire carrier subscribers have
access to the entire system, while insurance companies and private
fleets are only allowed to enter theft reports.

 For more information about CargoTIPS, contact TLP&SC, 703-838-1864.  

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 Back to:    Vol. 34. No. 3

Jan., 1998