NEFBA’s Construction Crime Prevention Committee was created initially to address the growing incidence of theft from construction sites.
“Several years ago, construction sites were a prime target of theft,” said committee chair Larry Wittmer. “From air-conditioning units to kitchen appliances, thieves were taking advantage of unsecured homes under construction to make away with merchandise.”
Wittmer, who also serves on the board of directors of First Coast Crime Stoppers, realized that a partnership between NEFBA and Crime Stoppers would benefit both organizations.
“Joining with Crime Stoppers enabled us to forge a better working relationship with the agencies responsible for preventing crime, apprehending criminals and seeking justice,” Wittmer said. “Construction crime is not limited to property theft, although that is a large part of it. We are also concerned with unlicensed contractors and undocumented immigrant workers and consumer fraud. Those three types of crimes have a negative impact on our industry.”
NEFBA and Crime Stoppers work with law enforcement agencies from Clay, St. Johns, Duval, Nassau and Baker counties to prevent theft from construction sites. They work with Immigration Code Enforcement to reduce the incidence of undocumented workers, and they work with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to combat the problems caused by unlicensed contractors. Federal agencies are involved in investigations of consumer fraud.
“This approach is efficient and certainly increases our ability to respond to problems when they arise,” Wittmer said. “When a builder or organization brings us a problem, we already have the relationships we need to be able to investigate and correct the situation.”
First Coast Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit, civilian volunteer organization formed in 2002 to better serve the citizens of the First Coast in the fight against crime.
“People are encouraged to call with information and are given complete anonymity,” Wittmer said. “And, they are eligible to receive a reward of up to $1,000 when an arrest is made from the tip.”
To report a crime and remain anonymous, citizens of the community call the toll-free number: Bottom of Form
1-866-845-TIPS (8477).
“Now people can even text their tips and still remain anonymous because the call is transmitted to an encrypter, and a code number is assigned assuring anonymity,“ Wittmer said. “All you need to do is text ‘TIP326’ with your message to CRIMES. This makes it even quicker to report. Of course, if you are witnessing a crime in progress, you would call 911.”
Locally, First Coast Crime Stoppers has been involved in 2,482 arrests and 4,375 cases cleared. It has paid $960,555 in reward money and recovered $14,815,824 worth of property (as of July 23, 2012). For more information about First Coast Crime Stoppers, visit www.fccrimestoppers.com.