Construction equipment theft
Encyclopedia
Construction equipment theft, is the criminal act
of steal
ing or attempting to steal construction equipment
, including all type of heavy equipments. Construction equipment theft has been recognized as a significant problem in the United States
and elsewhere in the world, including Canada
, Australia
, Europe
, and Japan
.
s can cost $45,000 to $55,000 (this and other figures in U.S. dollars); skid steer loaders, $25,000 to $35,000; generators
, $25,000 up to $150,000 (for trailer mounts); forklifts, $12,000 to $50,000.
Anti-theft measures taken for registered motor vehicles are often not used on construction equipment: open cabs of construction equipment can be easy for thieves to access; equipment often has "one key fits all" ignition system
s; construction equipment often does not have standardized vehicle identification number
s or serial number
s, and when they do, thieves often remove the numbers; title and registration for the equipment are not mandated. Recordkeeping for construction equipment is often poor, making identification of recovered items difficult. Large construction equipment is used to flatten a security fence before thieves leave a storage or construction site.
Thieves typically remove all identifying numbers before reselling the items, often to unsuspecting contractors. Other equipment may be stripped down to components for separate resale on the black market. Some items stolen in the United States and the United Kingdom are sold overseas.
Thefts can occur from construction sites, by thieves posing as customers of rental companies and from equipment storage areas. Stolen construction equipment is sometimes used to commit other crimes. For example, thieves have used construction equipment to move or destroy bank ATMs
.
According to Saqib Qayyum Choudhry of UAE-based Al Tayyeb Used Heavy Equip. & Machines Tr. L.L.C., more than 450 items of stolen construction equipment were reported to Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association
in 2008 in Japan alone.
In the United States, the National Insurance Crime Bureau
estimated that by 2007 more than $1 billion in construction equipment was stolen each year.
In the United Kingdom, according to the 2009 Equipment Theft Report, published by the National Plant & Equipment Register, the most commonly stolen items in that country in 2008 were trailers
(911 thefts), excavators(849), site dumpers (244) and telehandlers (202). The biggest increases in thefts were in agricultural tractors (up 149 percent), quad bikes (up 83 percent), forklift trucks (up 67 percent), and portable generators (up 55 percent). TER manager Tim Purbrick said organized criminals found construction theft very lucrative.
In the United Kingdom, the Construction Equipment Security And Registration (CESAR) and The National Plant & Equipment Register programs allow companies to register equipment to help recover stolen items.
In 2008, a trend was identified in the United Kingdom in which criminals rented equipment for fake sites and then vanished once the equipment was delivered. "Early indications are that CESAR registered plant is up to six times more likely to be recovered than non-CESAR registered items", according to RSA (formerly Royal Sun Alliance), a British insurance company. RSA recommended that rental businesses be sure to identify those leasing equipment and either establish credit with customers or use credit or debit cards for payment.
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
of steal
Steal
Steal may refer to:* Theft, the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent* The gaining of a stolen base in baseball...
ing or attempting to steal construction equipment
Construction Equipment
Construction Equipment is a trade publication and web site serving the information needs of construction contractors, materials producers, and other owners and operators of construction equipment....
, including all type of heavy equipments. Construction equipment theft has been recognized as a significant problem in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and elsewhere in the world, including Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Incidents
Construction equipment is believed to be targeted by thieves because it is often poorly secured, easily disguised and very expensive. Some construction equipment can cost as much as $150,000. BackhoeBackhoe
A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment or digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader...
s can cost $45,000 to $55,000 (this and other figures in U.S. dollars); skid steer loaders, $25,000 to $35,000; generators
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
, $25,000 up to $150,000 (for trailer mounts); forklifts, $12,000 to $50,000.
Anti-theft measures taken for registered motor vehicles are often not used on construction equipment: open cabs of construction equipment can be easy for thieves to access; equipment often has "one key fits all" ignition system
Ignition system
An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. Ignition systems are well known in the field of internal combustion engines such as those used in petrol engines used to power the majority of motor vehicles, but they are also used in many other applications such as in oil-fired and...
s; construction equipment often does not have standardized vehicle identification number
Vehicle identification number
A Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles. VINs were first used in 1954...
s or serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
s, and when they do, thieves often remove the numbers; title and registration for the equipment are not mandated. Recordkeeping for construction equipment is often poor, making identification of recovered items difficult. Large construction equipment is used to flatten a security fence before thieves leave a storage or construction site.
Thieves typically remove all identifying numbers before reselling the items, often to unsuspecting contractors. Other equipment may be stripped down to components for separate resale on the black market. Some items stolen in the United States and the United Kingdom are sold overseas.
Thefts can occur from construction sites, by thieves posing as customers of rental companies and from equipment storage areas. Stolen construction equipment is sometimes used to commit other crimes. For example, thieves have used construction equipment to move or destroy bank ATMs
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
.
Scope of problem
Every year, billions of dollars worth of construction equipment is stolen from locations throughout world.According to Saqib Qayyum Choudhry of UAE-based Al Tayyeb Used Heavy Equip. & Machines Tr. L.L.C., more than 450 items of stolen construction equipment were reported to Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association
Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association
The Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association is group which represents construction equipment manufacturers in Japan....
in 2008 in Japan alone.
In the United States, the National Insurance Crime Bureau
National Insurance Crime Bureau
The National Insurance Crime Bureau is a North American non-profit membership organization located in Des Plaines, Illinois. It was created by the insurance industry to address insurance-related crime and works closely with law enforcement agencies. Much of NICB's focus is on motor vehicle theft....
estimated that by 2007 more than $1 billion in construction equipment was stolen each year.
In the United Kingdom, according to the 2009 Equipment Theft Report, published by the National Plant & Equipment Register, the most commonly stolen items in that country in 2008 were trailers
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
(911 thefts), excavators(849), site dumpers (244) and telehandlers (202). The biggest increases in thefts were in agricultural tractors (up 149 percent), quad bikes (up 83 percent), forklift trucks (up 67 percent), and portable generators (up 55 percent). TER manager Tim Purbrick said organized criminals found construction theft very lucrative.
Anti-theft measures
As of 1998, the Home Depot chain of stores, which rent construction equipment, implemented two policies which dramatically reduced theft, according to the company: It stopped leaving equipment in trailers, ready for hauling away, and it used tire locks rather than chains to secure equipment in place. "When would-be thieves see that they have to load the equipment onto a trailer, which takes extra time, makes more noise and may draw attention to their actions, they decide it's not worth the trouble," Dan McAreavey, product manager for Home Depot Tool Rental for North America, told Rental Equipment Register, a business publication.In the United Kingdom, the Construction Equipment Security And Registration (CESAR) and The National Plant & Equipment Register programs allow companies to register equipment to help recover stolen items.
In 2008, a trend was identified in the United Kingdom in which criminals rented equipment for fake sites and then vanished once the equipment was delivered. "Early indications are that CESAR registered plant is up to six times more likely to be recovered than non-CESAR registered items", according to RSA (formerly Royal Sun Alliance), a British insurance company. RSA recommended that rental businesses be sure to identify those leasing equipment and either establish credit with customers or use credit or debit cards for payment.