User:ScottVicki/sandbox

Used with permission from Navistra

Asset and Cargo Theft: A Global Growing Concern Cargo theft has been around for centuries, from merchants and traders being attacked on roads to ships being seized by pirates. The crime has evolved into a sophisticated operation. Today criminals are organized into international crime syndicate. It is an international concern that has affected consumers and business alike. In the global economy of today’s world, production happens in one part of the world and while the raw materials are sourced from a different part of the world and the product is warehoused and consumed in entirely different part of the world. Asset and Cargo, whether in the warehouse or completely exposed on the road, it can be stolen at any point, anywhere, anytime. In 2011, a cadre of thieves executed one off the largest cargo theft in the history of Hillsborough County. The thieves broke open the roof of a military contractor's warehouse and stole around 3,000 laptops. The investigators tracked down the thieves with the help of a security footage that captured their getaway car at a nearby McDonald's. Cargo thieves target anything they can sell quickly. It can include color printers, paper towels, and prescription drugs. Ironically their buyers often lined up in advance. It’s reported that truck cargo theft activity spiked up in the final quarter of 2013 with the total of 242 reported incidents. GPS tracking systems like Navistra’s GeoTrackz system can play a pivotal role in bringing down the crime rate by quickly determining the stolen asset or cargo’s location and working with Law enforcement to help recover the stolen goods. Navistra works with clients to establish predetermined parameters according to very specific requirements to insure their assets and cargo are monitored properly This year is that more than $18 million worth of cargo has been stolen in the United States of America, in the fourth quarter of 2014 alone. Cargo thieves are sophisticated and organized. They are knowledgeable and trained to gain access to the truck and manipulate the ignition system. Once they gain access, they drive with the stolen equipment. If a trailer with a cargos is not attached to a truck (referred to as dropped or unattended), Thieves hookup the recently acquired stolen tractor to the loaded trailer and carry it to a secluded or secure location to break open the trailer and offload the cargo into an empty trailer making it difficult to locate and recover the stolen goods. According to Navistra, LLC, there are number of ways companies can secure assets and cargo. The measures include implementation of security devices and technologies besides creating common-sense for security best-practices. In effort to combat thief, Companies should consider implementing embedded tracking devices.