Steal $100k in equipment, and pay a $2k fine

I’m happy to see that police are taking an active role in pursuing people online who are selling stolen equipment, but this is nonsense. According to FDLReporter.com, “Following a search, police seized nearly $100,000 worth of stolen equipment, including a John Deere zero-turn tractor, a Kubota backhoe, a New Holland skid steer with a trailer, and the Caterpillar skid steer and attachments, according to the complaint.” Yet Aaron Pfaff, 33, of Iron Ridge, WI only received 2 years of probation. Are you kidding me? I must be missing something. He has $100k in stolen equipment, but he’s only required to pay $2,682 and do 120 of community service. That’s ridiculous.

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20090714/FON0101/90714089/1289/FON01/Iron-Ridge-man-gets-probation-for-receiving-stolen-property

I Can’t Find Work, So I Will Steal Tools

My favorite quote from this LehighValleyLive.com article is, "He chose these homes in Bethlehem Township because he figured if a person could afford to live in a larger home, they could afford to replace a tool.”

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2009/07/alleged_burglar_fidel_santiago.html

Look for your stuff on PropertyRoom.Com

Propertyroom.com was founded by police officers and the website states that they “specialize in the auction of stolen, seized, found and surplus goods and vehicles. Serving over 1,500 law enforcement and other public agencies nationwide, we offer a fraud-free marketplace with superior customer support.”

This website has been around for years, but recently it has been gaining popularity as a place to find good deals, and the tool section has become fairly large.

http://www.propertyroom.com/Catalog.aspx?Category=Tools&CategoryId=432

The great thing about this website is that if you find your stolen tools in their inventory, they will return your tools for free through their “STEAL-IT-BACK PROPERTY RECOVERY SERVICE.” You can read more about the service at the following link.

http://secure.propertyroom.com/serial/

Hope this helps.

Keep an Eye on your Padlocks

A jobsite a friend of mine had been working at recently lost well over $10,000 in portable equipment and tools that were stored in a large job-box/shipping container. The method in which the thieves stole the property was pretty in-genius and it appears to be a growing trend in jobsite theft.

It goes like this. A thief, that more than likely works on the jobsite or has access to it, will first take note of what style and brand of padlocks you are using to secure your job-box. Naturally, when you show up to work in the morning, you unlock your job-box and you set your padlock off to the side in the job-box while you work. Next, the thief will slip into your job-box and switch your padlock with the lock he purchased. At the end of the day, as usual, you load all of your tools back into the box, lock it with a padlock, and head home.

Later that night, the thief returns with the key to his padlock that you locked your job-box with, and he steals your stuff. Like I said, it’s pretty in-genius and easy to pull off. Furthermore, if any officers or other contractors come by and question what he’s doing, he can say “Look, I have the key to the lock, so it’s obviously my stuff.”

How can we prevent this type of theft? I would say pretty easily. If you’re going to use padlocks, mark them so you know they're yours. Or, keep your locks locked in a safe place and don’t leave your job-box open all day.

In my humble opinion, DON’T USE PADLOCKS. They’re cheap and generally provide minimal security to begin with. If you spend 8 bucks on a lock, what do you expect to happen? At the very least, install a round Hasp Lock made by Master Lock or American Lock.

http://www.inlad.com/MasterLockandHasp.aspx

These locks range in price from $25 to $125. Although they’re more expensive than a traditional padlock or other forms of locks, ask yourself this; what’s more expensive, a $100 lock or $10,000 loss of assets?

Help Develop Resources to Prevent Theft

I have gone through the experience of having my tools and equipment stolen, and according to a Dewalt study which states that construction site theft amounts to “More than $1-billion” annually, nearly everyone reading this post has been ripped off to! The study goes onto state that, “77% of jobsites have experienced theft up to five times each year over the past three years.” You can find the study at the following link;

http://www.dewalt.com/us/articles/article.asp?ID=1311&site=product&p=Article

This blog is obviously not going to save the world...or your tools. But with over $1-billion in annual construction site theft, I find it surprising that there is not more commentary and resources to help discuss and prevent this astonishing amount of theft.

Please join this community by sending this blog resources and insights on how to keep your tools and equipment safe. It doesn’t matter what trade you work in, landscapers, framers, plumbers, roofers, or whatever, please share your insights on how to protect your assets and livelihood.

Sincerely,
Jackson