Cargo Security

With only limited authority and resources, the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Office of Transportation Security (OTS) could realistically do little to reduce cargo theft and the estimated annual direct and indirect losses running into billions of dollars. DOT and the Department of Justice, working with industry associations, created 15 cargo security committees in major U.S. transportation centers. These local committees were to provide a means to promote coordinated actions against cargo thefts. OTS provides technical assistance to the transportation industry, coordinates the city cargo security committee campaigns, issues cargo security advisory standards, and collects, analyzes, and publishes data on theft-related cargo losses. It has presented 11 seminars, sponsored research and demonstration projects, made presentations at industry association conferences, and made films, publications, newsletters, and handbooks available. The effectiveness of OTS has been hampered by budget and staffing problems. Industry has minimal interest in OTS cargo security activities. Industry and government officials accept as a fact that theft-related losses are a cost of doing business. Good security measures can be expensive. OTS, to some extent, duplicates the activities of industry associations in promoting cargo security. Certain industry segments have a minimal interest because they have their own security experts and do not look to OTS for advice. Industry pays little attention to the cargo security advisory standards, and OTS does little to promote them. There are problems in collecting, analyzing, and publishing data on theft-related cargo losses. Because of the limited success of the city campaign program, the funds requested to expand the program were not approved by Congress and the campaigns have gone out of existence. The cargo security division plans to collect and publish theft-related cargo loss data which industry associations voluntarily provide. How useful such data will be is questionable. Without authority to require timely, accurate, and uniform reporting, the division may obtain an unreliable database.