TAPA EMEA and BIFA join forces as momentum grows to tackle rising freight crime in the UK
- TAPA EMEA and BIFA are strengthening their collaboration to help UK freight companies tackle rising cargo crime. Between October 2023 and September 2025, TAPA’s intelligence system recorded more than 137,000 incidents across EMEA, including 5,865 in the UK.
- Although loss values were reported in only nine percent of UK cases, they still totalled more than €72 million, with major incidents averaging €775,736.
- The two associations have now exchanged Associate Partner memberships and will work more closely on information-sharing and security guidance.
- Their cooperation aligns with growing political attention on freight crime, including a proposed Freight Crime Bill due for second reading on 28 November. Parliamentary estimates put the cost of freight-related crime in the UK at £700 million in 2023.
The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA EMEA) and BIFA, the British International Freight Association, are developing their collaboration to help protect their member companies against rising freight crime in the United Kingdom.
In the two years to 30 September 2025, the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) has recorded over 137,000 cargo crime incidents across more than 110 countries in EMEA, 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 €72 million from supply chains, while the average loss for major crimes that had a loss value of over €100,000 across the UK was €775,736.
In support of the UK freight industry’s heightened response to cargo thefts, the two Associations 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 £700 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.
“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,” he added.
TAPA EMEA’s Facility Security Requirements (FSR), Trucking Security Requirements (TSR), Parking Security Requirements (PSR), and Cyber Security Standard (CSS) are independently certified security Standards developed by its membership community, which consists of over 1,100 companies representing global manufacturers/shippers, logistics service providers, insurers, parking place operators, security service providers, and law enforcement agencies. TAPA Standards now help to increase the security of supply chains in 67 countries across the EMEA region. The Association’s TIS database also enables its members to see when, where, and how cargo crimes are occurring, the modus operandi used by criminals to target facilities and all modes of transport, as well as the products targeted, and loss values.
