Dutch police sources have stated that poor document control, lax information security and failure to carry out proper procedures is contributing to the theft of whole trailer loads in the Netherlands. Several instances have been quoted in which thieves have managed to acquire fully loaded trailers with the use of forged documents, fraudulently acquired documents or in some cases, no documents at all.
We urge all members to review their internal security procedures, and to make sure that all employees, and particularly new ones, undergo regular training in security issues.
Truckpol comments that failure to apply proper document and information security procedures is one of the key weak spots in the supply chain and one which thieves exploit time and again. Even documents that appear genuine should not be the only means by which an unknown driver should gain access to your cargo.
These warnings are by no means new, and it is depressing that the police should have to repeat them yet again. The Club has repeated this message on many occasions. Nobody would give their keys to a total stranger, yet far too many people are prepared to hand over documents - essentially the keys to thousands of dollars-worth of someone else's cargo - to anyone who turns up with a plausible story.
Cargo theft continues to blight the international supply chain, giving rise to disruption, unpredictability and widespread financial exposures. Whilst there are obvious commercial impacts, the loss of cargo and ensuing insurance claims for example, studies continue to develop a greater understanding of the overall impact of cargo theft, both economic and societal. It is widely believed that organised criminal gangs are often the orchestrators of cargo theft and that the proceeds inevitably support other illicit trades.
