By Thorsten Neumann, President and CEO TAPA EMEA
The entire road haulage system has always been strongly influenced by heavy losses due to organized groups of thieves, robbers and bandits. The impact on trade development is enormous, more than temporary crises or economic recessions. Cargo crimes in Europe have seen record year-on-year growth (114,7%) with financial loss for 11,6 billions. The average loss for serious crimes was over € 536,000 and over 94% of reported incidents occurred in 10 countries; Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Russia, Italy, Belgium and South Africa. Criminals clearly see trucks as their easiest targets; generally, there is just one driver and the severe lack of safe parking areas in Europe leads vehicles to stop at pitches, industrial areas or motorway service station, where they’re easily attacked. Typical attacks include cutting curtains, breaking rear door locks or security seals to steal goods. Frequent incidents have also been reported on Last Mile deliveries, moving vehicles. Fraudulent pick-ups by fake transport companies, criminals pretending to be police officers using blue lights to stop trucks, roadblocks and even gas attacks on drivers have also been reported. Doubtless, technologyrepresents the ultimate way to contrast cargo crimes. Real-time monitoring as well as trucks and vans visibility, in particular, provide efficient contrast in case of unexpected stops or route deviation. Contrasting cargo crime requires innovation. Viasat’s Operation Centre works 24/7 to manage 40 automatic alarms (unauthorized vehicle movement, unexpected tailgate openin, trailer unhooking) and – in the event of lack of non-identification of the driver – keeps the engine from starting and calls the police in case of robbery or danger. Furthermore, Viasat’s sophisticated security functions provide effective contrast to robberies carried out with the aid of jammers (frequency jammers). Our specialized operators provide real time monitoring to delicate transports and detect potential unusual events.