Community members often cite safety as a top concern in their neighborhoods. Yet properties can become a target of crime long before someone moves in.

Theft at construction sites is a growing problem that significantly delays construction timelines and inflates construction costs for homeowners. 

The right security solutions can be a critical tool in protecting construction sites. Tools such as CCTV cameras, alarms, fences, and security patrols can help. However, these tools often don’t provide law enforcement with the critical evidence of a license plate number.

A license plate reader, or LPR camera, can help police prevent and solve these crimes by providing evidence other security solutions don’t. LPR cameras capture license plate numbers and other critical details about vehicles associated with crimes.

LPR cameras provide clear, actionable evidence by capturing license plate numbers and other identifying details of vehicles on and around your construction site.

How Crime Impacts Property ROI

Home builders continue to see materials such as copper, bricks, wood, AC units, refrigerators, and other expensive appliances and equipment stolen from their sites. These crimes result in over $1 billion in losses each year. Only 25% of stolen materials are eventually recovered.

Those looking to commit a theft or burglary may see construction sites as vulnerable targets. This is especially true when sites are poorly lit, left unguarded, or lack proper security.

The rising prices of building materials like copper and lumber have made sites even more attractive for potential property crimes. Due to economic factors such as trade tariffs and supply chain issues related to COVID-19, the cost of timber and other materials has gone up. 

The National Association of Home Builders estimates that lumber prices are three times higher than pre-pandemic prices and can add as much as $19,000 to the cost of building a new home. 

Meanwhile, an unexpected housing boom has created a scarcity of these materials.

This means higher costs to resupply stolen materials, higher insurance premiums and a longer project timeline due to shipping delays. Disruptions in cash flow can also occur and add to these development expenses, which then get passed on to consumers.

Thefts at building sites are happening more frequently across the country:

·        In the Pikes Peak region of Colorado Springs, construction sites lost $1.04 million from thefts in the first half of 2021.

·        A flatbed truck loaded with materials valued at $130,000 was recently stolen from a construction site in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. The theft was discovered using a license plate reader camera.

·        Polk County, Florida has seen a rash of construction site thefts in recent months, including two suspects seen on CCTV footage stealing heavy equipment worth $70,000.

·        At a Salt Lake City construction site, suspects in ski masks were spotted making off with $10,000 worth of high-density roofing material in April. This was one of a string of thefts of materials worth over $100,000 the building company had seen at their sites.

The need for effective security solutions is clear.

Common Tools to Prevent Jobsite Theft

Proper security can make a major difference in preventing and solving crimes that occur at construction sites. Not only does good security help protect you from losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of on-site materials and equipment, but insurers may only pay for stolen materials if you’ve put proper security measures in place.

The following are some traditional methods builders use to help combat construction site theft.

Alarms

Alarm systems can be an important piece of the larger security puzzle. Yet many alarms also have a delay. By the time alarms sound and authorities arrive, suspects may be long gone.  Alarms also don’t collect or report any evidence once a crime has commenced.

Fencing and Locks

Fences and locks, along with good lighting, can help secure your job site. Yet determined suspects can find ways to get around it. Those planning to steal may work on a site they’re targeting, so they could have a key or inside knowledge about how to circumvent fences and locks.

On-Site Security Staff

Security staff can help deter crime by maintaining a physical presence at a site. However, hiring security personnel can be a major expense. How much you’ll pay can vary based on level of experience, education, certifications, and additional skills. For armed guards or those with specialized expertise, that cost could increase significantly. Plus, if a confrontation does occur, how equipped is your staff to deal with it without endangering themselves?

Cameras

CCTV cameras are a popular security solution for job site security. Some believe that installing a few CCTV cameras around a building site means that site is now secure, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Cameras can also be expensive, and you face the issue of sorting through hours of footage with slim chances of finding actionable evidence to help solve a crime—especially if the crime occurs at night. Sometimes thieves will just steal your cameras, too.

You need a security solution that helps prevent crime and gives police actionable evidence when thefts occur. That’s where Flock license plate reader cameras come into play.

The Advantage of Using Flock LPR Cameras

License plates are often the number one piece of evidence police need to take action, and unlike other security solutions, Flock LPR cameras are built to capture exactly that. Flock cameras can clearly capture plate details day or night, and they can even let you know when plates are covered, altered, or missing.  

Flock Vehicle Fingerprint technology also captures other identifying features of a vehicle, including color, make, model, and unique customizations.

When items are stolen from your construction site, time is of the essence. Flock cameras automatically flag law enforcement when a wanted vehicle is scanned.

For builders on a strict budget, Flock’s LPR cameras provide an affordable and flexible solution. You can place them anywhere on or around a property, since they are wireless, solar powered, and run on their own network. 

Flock cameras can help keep your properties secure 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once properties are built and residents move in, you can hand over control of the Flock system to the HOA or property manager. This way you can add value to your properties and ensure safety stays a top priority for all.

Interested in learning more about how Flock license plate reader cameras can help? Book a free demo today.

Flock Safety is a public safety operating system that helps communities and law enforcement in 5000+ cities work together to eliminate crime, protect privacy, and mitigate bias. We build devices that capture objective evidence and use machine learning to create and deliver unbiased investigative leads to law enforcement.  Flock Safety serves 5000 cities in 45+ states and is helping solve hundreds of crimes every day.