Why I Created the Illinois Cargo Theft Coalition — and Why I’m Asking You to Join the Mission

By Commander Michael Ware

Founder | Illinois Cargo Theft Coalition (ICTC)

Welcome to the Illinois Cargo Theft Coalition.

As our first official blog post, I want to explain why I created ICTC, what I believe this organization can become, why we are developing the BSCII Certification Program, and why I am asking law-enforcement professionals and private-sector leaders throughout the supply-chain community to become members, partners and sponsors of this mission.

ICTC was created around a simple principle:

Cargo theft cannot be defeated by one police department, one company, one retailer, one railroad or one technology provider. We have to fight it together.

The criminals attacking America’s supply chain are organized.

They communicate.

They share information.

They exploit technology.

They cross jurisdictions.

And they adapt.

We must become even more connected than they are.

WHY ICTC WAS CREATED

Throughout my law-enforcement career, particularly while working organized retail crime and cargo-theft investigations, I have seen firsthand how valuable public-private partnerships can be.

I have also seen the gaps.

A retailer may possess intelligence that a transportation company desperately needs.

A carrier may encounter a suspicious pickup that another carrier experienced several weeks earlier.

A railroad may identify a theft pattern that connects to an investigation being conducted by a local police department.

A technology provider may have tracking information capable of locating a stolen shipment.

A manufacturer may identify a pattern involving its products across several states.

And investigators in different jurisdictions may unknowingly be investigating members of the same criminal organization.

Everyone has a piece of the puzzle.

ICTC was created to help bring those pieces together.

Our mission is to connect law enforcement, retailers, manufacturers, trucking companies, railroads, freight brokers, logistics providers, warehouses, insurance companies, technology providers, prosecutors, investigators, corporate security professionals and other supply-chain stakeholders through education, intelligence sharing, training and professional relationships.

THE $647,000 NIKE RECOVERY: WHY PARTNERSHIPS MATTER

A recent investigation involving approximately $647,000 in stolen Nike merchandise demonstrates exactly why these partnerships are necessary.

The shipment was supposed to travel from Memphis, Tennessee, to Dallas, Texas.

Instead, fraudulent documentation was allegedly used to obtain the shipment. The merchandise ultimately traveled to the Chicago area before investigators recovered it in Des Plaines.

Consider what that means:

Tennessee → Texas → Illinois

One shipment.

Multiple jurisdictions.

Multiple companies.

Multiple potential investigative partners.

Nearly $650,000 at risk.

That is modern cargo theft.

Criminal organizations do not care about jurisdictional boundaries.

Neither can our partnerships.

FROM RECOVERING CARGO TO PREVENTING THE THEFT

Recovering stolen merchandise is important.

Making arrests is important.

Building criminal cases is important.

But our ultimate goal has to be bigger.

What if we prevent the theft from occurring?

What if an employee recognizes fraudulent paperwork before releasing a shipment?

What if a broker identifies a suspicious carrier before assigning a load?

What if a corporate-security professional recognizes a criminal method because they learned about it through ICTC?

What if a covert tracking device immediately alerts a company when a shipment travels outside its authorized route?

What if investigators receive critical information within minutes instead of days?

What if intelligence from one company prevents five other companies from becoming victims?

That is the future of cargo security I want ICTC to help create.

WHY BECOME AN ICTC MEMBER?

Membership is the foundation of this coalition.

I want ICTC membership to represent more than receiving emails or having your name associated with another professional organization.

Membership means becoming part of the network.

Whether you are a law-enforcement investigator, loss-prevention professional, corporate-security leader, transportation professional, intelligence analyst, logistics professional or another individual involved in protecting the supply chain, membership gives you an opportunity to participate in a community built around a common mission.

What ICTC Members Can Expect

Intelligence & Information Sharing

Members will have opportunities to learn about emerging cargo-theft trends, organized criminal activity, fraudulent-pickup methods, transportation vulnerabilities and other issues affecting the supply chain.

Information is one of our strongest defenses.

When professionals communicate, patterns become visible.

Quarterly Membership Meetings

ICTC plans to conduct quarterly membership meetings bringing together professionals from law enforcement and private industry.

These meetings will provide opportunities for:

• Intelligence sharing

• Cargo-theft trend discussions

• Case-study presentations

• Emerging threat briefings

• Technology demonstrations

• Prevention discussions

• Professional networking

• Public-private collaboration

The goal is simple:

Get the right people into the same room.

Build Relationships Before the Emergency

One of the greatest benefits of ICTC membership may be the professional relationships members develop.

If your company experiences a major cargo theft at 2:00 a.m., that is not the ideal time to begin searching for someone who understands cargo crime.

You should already know them.

ICTC membership is intended to help professionals establish those relationships before they are needed.

Access to Training and Professional Development

Education will remain one of ICTC’s core missions.

Members will have opportunities to participate in ICTC educational programs, industry presentations, workshops and professional-development events.

Our goal is to bring experienced investigators, transportation experts, security professionals and technology leaders together to teach one another.

Networking Across the Supply Chain

Cargo security touches many different industries.

ICTC members will have opportunities to develop relationships with professionals from:

Law enforcement.

Retail.

Trucking.

Rail.

Manufacturing.

Logistics.

Insurance.

Technology.

Loss prevention.

Corporate security.

Investigations.

And other areas of supply-chain protection.

Those relationships can become invaluable when a significant incident occurs.

Annual ICTC Conference

ICTC intends to host an Annual Conference bringing together public- and private-sector professionals for training, intelligence sharing, technology discussions, case studies and networking.

Our vision is to develop an event where professionals can learn not only from instructors but also from one another.

WHY IS THERE AN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE?

This is an important question, and I want to address it directly.

ICTC is being built as a professional nonprofit organization with a serious mission.

Building that organization requires resources.

Annual membership dues help support the infrastructure necessary to operate ICTC and advance its mission.

Membership revenue can help support areas such as:

• Training and educational programming

• Professional speakers and instructors

• Membership meetings

• Educational materials

• Website and communications infrastructure

• Administrative and organizational expenses

• Intelligence-sharing initiatives

• Professional-development opportunities

• Conference planning

• Outreach to law enforcement and private industry

• Development of future programs and resources

The membership fee is not simply about paying to belong to an organization.

It is an investment in the mission.

Members are helping build an organization dedicated to making the supply chain more difficult for criminals to exploit.

WHAT YOUR MEMBERSHIP SUPPORTS

When someone becomes an ICTC member, I want that individual to understand that their dues have a purpose.

Your membership helps us educate.

Your membership helps us connect people.

Your membership helps us bring experts together.

Your membership helps us create training opportunities.

Your membership helps us strengthen public-private partnerships.

Your membership helps us build a professional network focused on protecting the supply chain.

And as ICTC grows, I want the value provided to our members to grow with it.

INTRODUCING THE BSCII CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

One of ICTC’s most important educational initiatives will be the BSCII Certification Program.

The program is being developed to prepare professionals for the changing cargo-theft environment.

This will not simply be a certification someone obtains to place letters behind their name.

It is intended to provide practical knowledge that professionals can take back to their agencies and organizations.

The program will address subjects including:

• Cargo-theft fundamentals

• Strategic cargo theft

• Fraudulent pickups

• Fictitious carriers

• Freight documentation

• Bills of lading

• Carrier and driver verification

• Cargo tracking and GPS technology

• Telematics

• Investigative response

• Evidence preservation

• Intelligence development

• Cargo-theft prevention

• Public-private coordination

• Real-world case studies

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INDUSTRY

One of my biggest goals for the BSCII program is creating professionals who understand both sides of cargo security.

Investigators need to understand transportation.

Transportation professionals need to understand investigations.

A detective investigating cargo theft should understand how freight moves.

A corporate-security professional should understand what evidence investigators need.

A logistics professional should recognize suspicious activity.

An executive should understand why cargo security is an enterprise-level risk.

A loss-prevention professional should understand how an isolated theft may connect to a larger organized criminal network.

When everyone speaks the same language, investigations become stronger and prevention becomes more effective.

WHY COMPANIES SHOULD SPONSOR ICTC

I am also asking companies throughout the supply-chain community to consider becoming ICTC corporate sponsors.

Sponsorship should represent much more than putting a company logo on an event.

Sponsorship is an investment in protecting the supply chain.

Corporate sponsorship can help ICTC expand training opportunities, bring national subject-matter experts to Illinois, develop educational resources, support conferences and meetings, expand outreach and make training accessible to professionals and agencies with limited resources.

Companies spend significant amounts of money protecting their merchandise, facilities, transportation networks and technology.

Supporting ICTC is another way to invest in the ecosystem protecting those assets.

SPONSOR THE PEOPLE PROTECTING YOUR PRODUCTS

There are investigators throughout the country working cargo-theft cases who may never have attended specialized cargo-theft training.

There are smaller police departments located near major highways, distribution centers and rail corridors that may suddenly find themselves investigating a sophisticated cargo-theft organization.

There are transportation companies that may encounter strategic cargo theft without having a large corporate-security department.

We want ICTC to help close those gaps.

Corporate sponsorship can help us put education and resources into the hands of professionals who need them.

When you sponsor ICTC, you are helping invest in the people protecting the supply chain.

OUR VISION EXTENDS BEYOND ILLINOIS

We are the Illinois Cargo Theft Coalition, but cargo theft does not stop at the Illinois border.

Neither will our partnerships.

Illinois is one of America’s most important transportation hubs.

Freight entering Illinois may have originated thousands of miles away and may be traveling thousands more before reaching its destination.

That means a crime discovered here may connect to victims, suspects and investigations throughout the United States.

ICTC intends to build relationships nationally.

We want investigators in Illinois knowing investigators in California, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, New Jersey and other major cargo corridors.

We want industry professionals communicating across regions.

We want intelligence moving faster.

And we want criminals to discover that stealing cargo in one state may result in investigators and industry professionals across the country working together.

THREE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION

1. JOIN ICTC

Become an annual member and become part of a growing network of professionals committed to protecting the supply chain.

Your membership supports ICTC’s educational, networking and public-private partnership mission while giving you opportunities to participate in meetings, training, intelligence discussions and professional networking.

[BECOME AN ICTC MEMBER]

2. EARN THE BSCII CERTIFICATION

Develop practical knowledge about cargo-theft prevention, investigation, intelligence and supply-chain security.

Bring that knowledge back to your agency, company or organization.

[EXPLORE BSCII CERTIFICATION]

3. BECOME A CORPORATE SPONSOR

Help ICTC expand training, education, conferences, professional development and collaboration between law enforcement and private industry.

Put your organization behind a mission dedicated to protecting the supply chain on which American businesses and consumers depend.

[VIEW ICTC SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES]

A MESSAGE TO OUR FUTURE MEMBERS

If you are considering joining ICTC, I want you to understand what I hope your membership will mean.

I want you to meet someone through ICTC who eventually helps you solve a case.

I want you to learn something at an ICTC meeting that prevents your company from becoming a victim.

I want an investigator to make a phone call because they met an industry professional through this coalition.

I want a transportation professional to recognize a fraudulent pickup because of something learned through our training.

I want companies that normally compete against one another to share critical security information because protecting the supply chain benefits everyone.

And I want every member to know that they are helping build something that can have an impact far beyond Illinois.

THE MISSION STARTS NOW

The criminals targeting America’s supply chain are organized, mobile, technologically capable and constantly adapting.

Our response must be equally organized.

ICTC will be built around four principles:

EDUCATION

Give professionals the knowledge to recognize, prevent and investigate cargo crime.

INTELLIGENCE

Connect information that might otherwise remain isolated.

PARTNERSHIP

Bring law enforcement and private industry together before the emergency.

PREVENTION

Measure success not only by what we recover—but by what criminals never get the opportunity to steal.

JOIN US

I created the Illinois Cargo Theft Coalition because I believe we can build something meaningful.

But no coalition succeeds because of one person.

It succeeds because people decide the mission is worth supporting.

To our future members:

Join us.

To our future students:

Learn with us.

To our law-enforcement and industry partners:

Work with us.

To companies throughout the supply chain:

Sponsor the mission.

Together, we can build a stronger network, develop better-trained professionals and make America’s supply chain a more difficult target for organized crime.

Education. Intelligence. Partnership. Prevention.

The mission starts now.

Commander Michael Ware

FounderIllinois Cargo Theft Coalition (ICTC)

READY TO BECOME PART OF ICTC?

Become a Member | Earn the BSCII Certification | Become a Corporate Sponsor | Partner With ICTC

Protecting the supply chain through education, intelligence and partnership.