The Ontario Trucking Association’s campaign to extinguish cargo crime continued this week as the group held a to update a landmark 2011 report on Canadian cargo crime.
The event was kicked off by providing attendees with an update on the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s report, Cargo Crime in Canada, recapping the recommendations of that 2011 report while summarizing what progress has been made over the past four years.
The update – commissioned by OTA and conducted by Bob Goodall, a former cop and head of the Decurion Group – reads as a report card of sorts for the trucking industry.
OTA also arranged for three carriers to have a threat assessment completed by Decurion. All three carriers over the past years have fallen victim to cargo crime in its various forms and spoke first-hand about how criminals where able to get around their security systems. This portion of the event, which served to show how even the most diligent of carriers can be vulnerable to professional thieves, was identified by attendees as one of the highlights of the event.
The day also included presentations and panel discussions from the insurance industry, including IBC, as well as law enforcement specializing in cargo crime in Peel, North York and the Ottawa area.
In addition, there were also presentations from event sponsors providing services to help carriers protect themselves.
The latest cargo crime event follows up the enormously successful Project Momentum workshop last fall, the first of a series of initiatives to raise awareness and share mitigation strategies on the growing threat of cargo crime in the high-risk corridor along Highway 401.
OTA plans to use the momentum of these events to keep the pressure on government and law enforcement on this issue.