by Jean Sealey
Northeast Florida Builders Association
Jobsite crime is a national problem that depletes builders’ contingency budgets, impedes production schedules, drives up insurance costs and home prices, and puts the construction industry on edge.
“All builders feel this problem,” said Ryan Murray, safety director with D.R. Horton. “Theft occurs at large and small jobsites, and the losses affect all of us.”
Builders aren’t alone in their battle. NEFBA is working with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to monitor the situation and help develop prevention strategies.
“The problem is on the rise due to the increase in construction,” Murray said. “And, builders are installing a larger quantity of appliances and products in homes — and, in general, they are of a higher quality and more expensive. There’s also a greater market for such items, so criminals are more highly motivated.”
The location of new developments on the fringes of populated areas is another factor.
“Many of the new homes are being built outside the urban core of Jacksonville,” said Assistant Chief Mike Rutledge. “These new areas are sparsely populated, if there are any residents at all. Criminals can come and go with little chance of detection.”
Following are some strategies from builders, law enforcement and other industry pros you can use on your sites to avoid the high cost of crime.
• Be on the lookout. Pay attention to crime patterns in your area so you can take extra precautions, if necessary. Statistics indicate that lots of theft occurs in July, August, and September.
• Call the police. Advise the JSO if you’re starting a new subdivision. The police may patrol it routinely but on an unscheduled basis, so their presence is not predictable to criminals watching the area.
• Fence your sites. Buy or rent chain-link fencing (buildings and activity remain visible) and secure it with heavy-duty padlocks.
• Control access. Know who should be on the premises and who might be an intruder by insisting that your subcontractors have signage on their vehicles.
• Flood the property with light.
• Consider cameras. Some builders use security cameras on their sites, and some also use decoys that swivel like the real thing.
• Be seen and heard. Signage announcing that your site is under surveillance and that trespassers will be prosecuted is an effective, low-cost deterrent. NEFBA has signs available for members to post on construction sites. Signs are $7 each.
• Protect your products. Builders have reported having appliances, plumbing fixtures, air conditioning units, condensers, cabinets, fireplace manifolds, windows, doors, landscaping, and even staircases heisted from their sites. If you can’t fully install a large item the day it arrives, do a partial installation. Use fluorescent paint to mark large items and building materials.
• Schedule and track deliveries wisely. Ask suppliers to put serial numbers on invoices to make it easier to track stolen goods.
• Lock up. At the end of the day, make sure all exterior doors and windows and fences are locked. An employee should be the last one on site.
• Keep tabs on tools. Tools, one of the most frequently stolen items, can be recovered more easily if you duplicate the serial number in a secret place on the tool or add your own identifying marks.
If you are the victim of construction site crime, be prepared to give the police as much information as possible: What’s missing or broken, when you think it happened, who might have been on site. Give them copies of inventory sheets and serial numbers, too.
— Natalie Holmes, communications manager for the Business Management Department at the National Association of Home Builders, and consultant Jill Tunic contributed to this article.