Cargo theft: a scourge that costs billions to combat

MONTREAL, Oct. 20, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and the Association du camionnage du Québec (ACQ) are teaming up to crack down on cargo theft, a crime that costs Canadians up to $5 billion each year.

Thanks to the Programme provincial de déclaration de vol de cargaison, the cargo theft reporting program launched in Quebec by the two organizations, in collaboration with the Service du renseignement criminel du Québec (SRCQ) and Quebec's two police services, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM), it has now become much easier to share information among the trucking community, companies, insurers and the authorities.   

In fact, insurers and ACQ members can now report cargo theft, in complete confidentiality, directly to IBC via an online submission form, which is also accessible on the ACQ website.  Thus, IBC will act as a clearing house and collect and analyse the information received, and promptly share it with a national network of law enforcement partners, including Canadian and American border agencies. Law enforcement will also be able to ask IBC to search the database to identify the owners of the property and fast track its recovery.

"We are very pleased about this partnership which will help us more actively combat cargo theft. It is essential that these crimes be solved and recorded, and that the criminals be prosecuted. These crimes are very costly and benefit organized crime", stressed Charles Rabbat, Director, Investigative Services, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, at IBC.

Mr. Rabbat also noted that a 2011 study pegged the cost of cargo theft in Canada at $5 billion. 

Marc Cadieux, President and General Manager of the Association du camionnage du Québec, stated that his organization has been working with its partners for several years now to identify solutions to this scourge, stressing the importance of reporting these thefts so that an effective database can be set up. He believes that this partnership will motivate truckers who are victims of these thefts to report them.  He concluded that "the cost related to cargo theft not only affects transport companies, but also society as a whole, which ultimately absorbs the higher merchandise prices incurred by this type of crime". 

The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and the Sûreté du Québec, which are among the law enforcement services that investigate these thefts, are in complete agreement, noting they take cargo theft very seriously. The two forces estimate it is essential that these crimes be reported and that these organized networks be dismantled. 

Consult the ACQ site to download the theft reporting form which will be sent, in strict confidence, to IBC and to the various security agencies, such as the police services and Canada border agency. 

About Insurance Bureau of Canada
Insurance Bureau of Canada, which groups the majority Canada's P&C insurers, offers various services to consumers in order to inform and assist them when purchasing car or home insurance, or making a claim.

About Association du camionnage du Québec
The Association du camionnage du Québec groups public and private carriers, and providers of products and services in the Quebec trucking industry. With a fleet of 20,000 vehicles, it represents 75% of fleet owners with five vehicles or more.  In Quebec, the industry represented more than $3.8 billion of GDP in 2012.

 

SOURCE: Insurance Bureau of Canada

(press only): For IBC: Caroline Phémius, Public Affairs Consultant, Telephone : [phone], ext. 2232, Cell: 514 953-0828; For ACQ: François Prudhomme, Project Manager, Telephone: [phone], ext. 221