Checks carried out by South and Southern Jutland Police reveal that almost three out of four tarpaulin lorries crossing the border have had holes cut in their coverings.
The holes have been cut by thieves to check the lorry’s load for anything worth taking.
The problem is a growing one all over Europe and, according to the police, the value of the goods lifted from lorries totals around 60 billion kroner per year.
Cross-border collaboration
In order to combat the problem, South and Southern Jutland Police has joined with European colleagues under the umbrella ‘Project Cargo’.
“We’re engaged in collecting better data from Denmark and abroad on where the thefts take place, who the suspects are and who gets caught,” police special consultant Lars Haugaard Thomsen told DR Nyheder.
“In this way we can set national and international investigations in motion.”
ITD, the trade organisation for Danish road transport, is only too aware of the problem.
“I was surprised that the figure was so high, but I don’t doubt it because there are really a lot of examples of this out there,” Jørn-Henrik Carstens, the head of ITD’s political department, told DR Nyheder.
Greater security needed at truck stops
One of the reasons for the increasing number of thefts could be that lorries are seen as ‘soft targets’ – especially in the light of the fact that storage warehouses are beefing up their security.
Drivers would also like to see more security at truck stops. “In my view, we need more truck stops with surveillance cameras,” said Carstens.
He went on to point out that as well as having consequences for the delivery of individual loads, the thefts are driving up insurance costs for future cargoes.
