NCJ Number
77679
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This film describes a prototype of a new security system developed for the trucking industry to help prevent the enormous losses sustained through cargo thefts every year.
Abstract
Such losses are in excess of $2 billion a year from ship, train, air, and truck cargo thefts. In the trucking industry specifically, truck hijackings, grand larceny, and breaking and entering are responsible for 15 percent of all truck losses. The remaining 85 percent of truck losses are due to cargo loss, mainly in cargo terminals. However, good security measures can deter these losses. Security methods include fencing in the entire cargo area, checking the personal belongings of all personnel who work within the terminal, and requiring all vehicles without specific authorization to be parked outside the secure cargo area. But such a security system has one remaining weakness: it does not provide surveillance of the cargo inside the truck once the truck leaves the terminal. A prototype electronic surveillance security system to be placed in each truck for no more than $1,000 per year per vehicle was developed to meet this problem. The system involves a computer terminal at dispatch headquarters which monitors both location and opening of the truck en route to its destination. All the electronic detectors in the truck are miniaturized. The film describes in detail the technical aspects of the system, which is designed basically for short-run deliveries rather than for long-distance hauls.