Victimless Crime?

It’s time to treat cargo theft as a serious offense with tougher penalties

It’s not hard to understand why cargo theft is such an attractive criminal activity. It can be very profitable on the upside, and any downside is minimized by the fact that the penalties for being caught are fairly benign compared to similarly lucrative but higher-risk crimes like dealing in illegal drugs.

While “cargo theft” sounds like a scary criminal enterprise, it’s actually a catchphrase that, for the most part, isn’t really a crime. Depending on where cargo thieves get caught, they may be charged under a myriad of statutes that include burglary, property theft or vehicle theft. Convicted thieves may receive anything from a relatively short prison sentence to probation for stealing millions of dollars worth of goods in a single heist.

While cargo-theft tracking agencies, insurance companies and task forces know that cargo theft is a major problem that results in billions of dollars lost annually, the exact amount is unknown. Estimates start as low as $10 billion and range upward of $50 billion each year in the United States.

Cargo theft is a hugely underreported crime. Many trucking companies that are victims don’t report losses because of the concerns they will be perceived as risky carriers to their customers or the probability that their insurance rates may rise.

All of this leaves truckers vulnerable to being a victim of cargo theft at some point in their careers. But, truly, everyone is a victim, as the costs associated with cargo theft are passed along to consumers. This month, we look at cargo theft and the efforts to combat the escalating problem (page 20).