Growing push to address the rise in UK freight crime
Over the past two years, the TAPA[1] EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) has logged more than 137,000 cargo crime incidents across 110+ countries in the EMEA region, including 5,865 in the United Kingdom. While actual loss values were only recorded for 9% of these UK incidents, this still equated to losses of goods worth over EUR72 million from supply chains, while the average loss for major crimes that had a loss value of over EUR100,000 across the UK was EUR775,736. In support of the UK freight[2] industry's heightened response to cargo thefts, the two Associations (BIFA[3] and TAPA) have exchanged Associate Partner memberships and will now work more closely together to exchange information, insights, and cargo security solutions to help safeguard supply chains against criminal attacks.
The cooperation comes as a proposed Freight Crime Bill sponsored by The Rt Hon Rachel Taylor MP is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on 28 November 2025. This follows a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freight and Logistics, which estimated freight-related crime cost the economy GBP700 million in 2023.
Freight crime is a major concern for TAPA EMEA members in the UK, which consistently ranks in the top 5 countries in our Europe, Middle East & Africa region for recorded cargo thefts. We are, therefore, greatly encouraged by the increased collaboration between UK freight, logistics, road haulage, and law enforcement bodies to find effective ways to prevent these types of incidents from occurring, and to reduce freight crime's significant financial impact on individual businesses, consumers, and the UK economy,
said Harry Hughes, TAPA EMEA's UK Regional Lead.
The industry is becoming increasingly vocal about the need for coordinated action, and it's clear that freight crime is no longer viewed as an isolated operational challenge but a strategic threat to supply chain resilience. Operators, insurers, and security specialists repeatedly tell us that the scale and sophistication of criminal activity demand stronger intelligence-sharing frameworks and far more consistent reporting. As we continue to cover this issue, the message is unmistakable: collaboration and transparency will be essential if the sector is to protect assets, safeguard drivers[4], and maintain trust across the wider logistics ecosystem.
Working alongside BIFA and other industry partners, TAPA EMEA is part of the solution and we aim to leverage our supply chain security standards, training, and intelligence tools to help freight companies in the UK make their supply chains as secure and resilient as possible against the types of attacks we know are regularly taking place nationwide.
This cooperation underscores BIFA's commitment to promoting safety, reducing freight crime, and supporting the authorities in their work,
said Steve Parker, director general of BIFA.
Collaboration is key to tackling freight crime effectively and our cooperation with TAPA EMEA comes a few months after we strengthened our sponsorship and work with the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS).
The collaboration with both TAPA EMEA and NaVCIS will help to ensure that our extensive corporate membership base stay informed about current risks and take proactive steps to protect their operations.
By working with both organisations, BIFA will be able to help its members implement targeted security measures, contributing to safer and more resilient supply chains,
Steve added.