National Threat Assessment 2008. Organised Crime - Politie

As goods transport by road takes place within a logistical chain, cargo theft
often results in serious consequential damage. If a shipment of microchips
is stolen, for example, not only the transporter will suffer, but the buyer of the
microchips as well, because he will not be able to produce the computers for
which he needed the microchips, which means that he will not be able to
supply them to the wholesaler. In turn, the wholesaler will not be able to meet
his supply obligations towards the retailer and so on. The party generally held
accountable for damage is the transporter. Transport companies often run a
high level of own risk. Payments made by insurance companies are often subject
to a maximum, but the entrepreneurs themselves often have unlimited liability.
If transporters prove to have been negligent they can be held liable for the
entire loss.
Another type of damage that is difficult to express in money is the intertwining
of criminal circles and legitimate society in the form of the extensive involvement
in cargo thefts of people working in the sector. It was already stated above that
an estimated 80% of thefts are carried out with inside involvement. These could
also be considered cases of corruption.
4.4.6 Crime-related factors and expectations
The future nature and scale of cargo theft is affected by the growth of
international road transport. The more goods are transported, the more
possibilities cargo thieves have. According to TLN, international road traffic
will continue to grow every year. This growth is caused in part by the increased
diversity of products. Furthermore, transport safety requirements have been
tightened, as a result of which certain goods have to be transported separately,
which in turn leads to more journeys. The expansion of the EU has also resulted
in the addition of new markets. The scale of the cargo theft phenomenon is
further affected by the nature of the goods transported. Expensive goods that
are easy to sell, such as computers, mobile telephones and flat-screen TVs, are
naturally popular. These goods are transported a lot in the Netherlands.
The transport of these goods is not expected to decrease.
The tight labour market makes it rather difficult to recruit drivers. As a result,
new personnel are not screened properly or not at all. As stated above, a total
of 80% of thefts in the transport sector had insider involvement. Depending on
the extent to which the screening of personnel is intensified, this percentage
will either increase or decrease.
The scale of cargo theft is expected to increase in the next few years.
The predicted increase in road transport especially will play a facilitating role.
chapter 4 – Supraregional property crime
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