June 2005 - Detectives' Tip To Combat Construction Theft
By Mandi Harding, FCA Executive Director

Attendees at last month’s Framing Contractors Association’s quarterly luncheon got a talkin’ to from two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers. Detectives Allen Hanners and Tom Riesselmann head up the Property Crimes’ Construction Theft Detail.

The duo educated luncheon guests on the realities of construction theft in southern Nevada and discussed the latest in construction prevention techniques, with particular emphasis on the framing industry.

“Prior to joining the police department, I too, used to be a small business owner. Therefore, I understand the challenges of keeping a business running and how theft can impact a business’s bottom line,” Hanners said. “The construction theft detail was started about 6 or 7 years ago and because we are only two, we are extremely busy. There is no relief from other burglary detectives in the department because the average burglary detective handles 290 cases per month, when the national average is 88 cases per detective per month.”

Hanners relayed that it is nearly impossible to cite accurate construction theft statistics for southern Nevada because the statistics are compiled from reported incidents, and the rate of occurrence may be significantly higher than realized because of construction theft that goes unreported. Another reason gauging the rate of theft is difficult is directly related to the tremendous growth the valley continues to sustain - there are subdivisions in existence that have yet to be updated into the police system.

“It may even be that some incidents go unreported because company management is not even aware materials are missing or are concerned about time it requires to get the police out to the site and file the report. We all know that you lose money from stopping work,” said Hanners.

National statistics indicate that construction theft results in $1 billion a year in losses, but the LVMPD detectives believe this is an underestimate due to unreported incidents.

Hanners discussed a collaborative program recently undertaken with a local construction company.

“Five months ago this company was averaging a construction theft loss of $35,000 a month, today they have reduced their losses by more than 75 percent. One way we are aiding construction companies’ internal anti-theft programs is by working closely with the district attorney’s office and seeking an aggressive prosecution when we do find the bad guy.”

The detectives stated said construction thieves steal to use the booty for personal property renovation, a small side job or to turn a quick profit from a pawn shop to feed an addiction. Others are part of a larger theft ring – where materials, equipment and tools are being immediately transported to California where the items are sold or sent to Mexico. The average construction theft criminal is non-confrontational, the detectives said. They want to get in and get out, so the more a company can implement ways to deter and incorporate better safeguards, the less likely the criminal will be to choose the jobsite.

The detectives provided some helpful guidelines to jumpstart a company’s theft prevention program. Because 37 percent of jobsite thefts are reported on Monday mornings, the detectives urge every company to have an employee physically check on jobsites over the weekend.

Next, teach foreman to ask questions.

“Recently, on a residential jobsite there was a 32-foot unmarked truck parked at the site. A few noticed it and wondered why it was there, but after it being there for two weeks thought it was supposed to be there and therefore never pursued the issue,” said Hanners. “What they didn’t know is that the truck was in the possession of a construction thief, who was coming out to the site every night and loading up his truck incrementally until it was full and ready to move to California. So make your foreman aware that when they see something odd, to question it.”

The detectives suggested keeping jobsites well lit after work ends and implementing a control access perimeter. Pole cameras, e-cameras, security guards, painted and numbered equipment and tools to also can deter thieves.

“And on high-priced items like generators, label your equipment in more than one place. The harder you make it the better,” said Riesselmann “Using global positioning system transmitters is another valuable implementation because it increases the prosecution rate especially it we can find it in the first 24 hours.”

“We recently were involved in a construction theft ring bust in Long Beach. There were seven semi-trailers full of construction property and the frustrating part is we could only identify eight owners here locally due,” said Hanners. “There is nothing worse than looking at $1million worth of tools in a guy’s shed and not being able to confiscate any of it.”

Riesselmann noted another unpleasant thought.

“Although we don’t like to think of them as the culprit, in many cases it is the company’s own employees ripping them off,” he said.

One final prevention tip for framers: Paint or stamp your wood.

“Your 2x4s look just like this guy’s over here. It is time-consuming, but at the end of the day if it saves you $100,000 in losses, then paying someone $7 an hour to mark your material is worth it, isn’t it?” said Hanners.

To discuss further construction theft prevention programs specific to your company contact Detective Riesselmann at 702-229-1953 or Detective Hanners at 702-229-4454.