TORONTO — Truckers have a better chance in recovering stolen cargo, says the Ontario Trucking Association, now that it has signed a deal with Stolen Cargo and Equipment Tracking Incorporated (SCAET) — a nation-wide, centralized online database which contains details of cargo theft crimes on the Internet.

The site — www.scaet.com — is accessible to both fleet managers and police investigators. It’s purpose is to provide one place where investigators can look to find information about stolen cargo as well as spot trends in cargo theft.

Security is the easy part. Finding your stolen cargo after it’s
gone is much trickier. SCAET at the OTA can help.

According to cargo theft investigators in the Greater Toronto Region, a dedicated load theft database that is kept up to date in a timely fashion would greatly assist investigators. Due to the speed stolen cargo is dispersed, access to information about thefts that have just occurred is critical to a successful investigation.

“All fleets should consider becoming a participant in this database,” says Barrie Montague, OTA senior policy advisor. “More effective tracking of cargo that is stolen will benefit the industry at large not just those who have freight stolen.”

Says Mark McDougall, a private investigator and creator of the SCAET database: “Participants visit the SCAET web site, type in their secure password and then follow simple prompts to enter details of their theft into the database. Their theft report appears instantly in the database where investigators can view it.”

Photographs of the stolen cargo or equipment can also be posted to the SCAET site when filing theft report. Another benefit is that fleets decide how much or how little information they wish to provide. Once the data is entered, the information is available immediately to investigators across the country.

Motor carriers’ names can be hidden if they wish from other site users – including other carriers and insurance companies. Only enforcement authorities will know which fleet has been the victim of cargo crime.

OTA members participate at the preferred price of $200 a year.