Have you ever wondered if your project is in a high-risk region for construction tool theft? Find out the top 10 worst-affected areas in the UK below.
In research by the FMB it showed more than three quarters of UK builders have been victims of tool theft and of those who have had tools stolen in the last 10 years, on average the loss cost them £2,500.
Construction tool theft impacts more than just the contractors or subcontractors themselves, but the overall project and future of your business.
With it being such a prevalent issue for the construction industry and only shows to be growing, we explore the top 10 regions in the UK impacted most by construction tool theft.
Why is Construction Tool Theft Popular?
But why is construction tool theft so popular? There are several factors that have contributed to a growth in this crime:
- High Resale Value - Construction tools have grown in resale value over recent years, particularly in reputable brands, making them attractive targets for criminals to sell both online and in-person.
- Easily Portable - Tools are often small, easy-to-steal and simple to conceal, meaning for criminals this type of crime is a low risk, high reward where multiple tools can be stolen at once.
- Minimal Tracking - Most tools generally lack built-in tracking features, making them difficult to recover if stolen. For criminals, this provides them with a sense of security and makes them easier to sell onto other businesses or individuals.
- High-Value Material - With some construction tools, high-value metals like steel and copper can be involved with them which is enticing to criminals. Metal prices, particularly copper, have risen dramatically, making any items where this is involved targets for theft.
- In-Demand Products - Construction tools are always in high-demand as new projects continue to open up, meaning that many individuals will be looking to find the best deal on tools and equipment in order to keep costs low.
- Economic Hardship - Due to global and national issues, there has been a strain and still is on the economy leading more individuals to engage in illegal activity to boost their finances.
Whether it’s on your construction site or held within a work van, no space is off-limits to criminals and without the correct protection, you could easily become another statistic to construction tool theft.
The Cost of Construction Tool Theft
Without experiencing it yourself, understanding the true price of construction tool theft can be difficult to gauge.
Although, it may seem like the immediate costs are the only financial implications caused by such crimes, there are both short and long-term consequences that could negatively impact on your business:
Replacement Costs
In most instances of construction tool theft, recovery rates are low and this leaves contractors, subcontractors and companies without that tool or group of tools.
These will then need replacing which if you use a reputable and well-established brand will likely be quite costly, all of which will come out of your pocket.
As you can imagine, the higher the number of instances, the higher the replacement costs for you as a business.
Loss of Earnings
Without construction tools, how can you continue the project? Many tools are integral to a business’ operations, so when stolen, this can lead to projects being placed on pause.
These breaks, no matter how small, can create project delays.
When this occurs, project pauses or delays can create a loss of earnings as this will impact the outcome for the client which could result in financial penalties from them.
Increased Insurance Premiums
All construction sites require insurance in order to protect your business financially against construction-related crime including tool theft.
Although this comes at a cost to your business, it will come at an even greater cost if you have to claim on multiple occasions with your insurer for repeated tool theft.
Essentially, the number of claims often relates to your insurance premium cost and in instances of high claims, it may come as a surprise when you go to renew and your premium has increased dramatically.
This could impact your insurance with new insurers, not just your current one.
Loss of Future Business
Most will be aware of how tool theft can impact current projects, however, did you know it can impact future projects too?
Although an indirect impact of tool theft, project delays and signs of neglected security can reflect poorly on you as a business.
This bad reputation created during an existing project can be dragged into any future site pitches if other businesses are aware of any tool theft incidents or late projects as a result of this.
Top 10 Regions in the UK With the Highest Construction Tool Theft Rates
With no signs of slowing down, construction tool theft figures across the UK are still a concern for many within the industry. But for some regions the risk of such crime is greater than others, creating an even bigger concern for companies based there.
Through FOI requests, recent statistics were published which shared the top 10 regions in the UK for construction tool theft, revealing the highest total number of instances of tool theft reported across the year, per 100,000 people:
- City of London - 592
- West Yorkshire - 130
- London Boroughs - 125
- Bedfordshire - 109
- Cleveland - 84
- Hertfordshire - 79
- South Yorkshire - 72
- Northumbria - 65
- Humberside - 64
- Lancashire - 63
For any construction projects or workers based in these regions, statistics like this can be alarming and display the true reality of how prevalent tool theft really is for businesses.
How to Prevent Construction Tool Theft From Happening to You
With construction tool theft such a prevalent issue in today’s society, how can you prevent your site or yourself from falling victim to this?
There are several measures you can implement at your construction site to prevent tool theft and these are as follows:
Create Physical Barriers
One of the main reasons criminals look to steal tools from construction sites is because there is an assumed lack of security and easy access to the public.
Knowing this, criminals will be enticed by this as it lowers their risk of being caught and makes it easier for them to get away with tool theft.
Therefore, for your own protection, you should create physical barriers to prevent any unauthorised access, but also reduce their view of the actual site and what is held there.
Physical barriers could include blocks, perimeter fencing and screens, all of which make access more difficult, but also reduce visibility of the site for anyone external.
If criminals are unable to see the site, there is no understanding of how to navigate the site, any items or tools stored there or if there are further security measures present that could complicate the theft of any tools.
Install Mobile CCTV
Placing all these preventative measures can only protect your construction site from tool theft so much. There are limitations and weaknesses to any measures solely designed to deter crime.
That’s why it is recommended that all construction sites should implement mobile CCTV to help monitor and record any crime, in addition to preventing it also.
Having over 20-years of experience in security solutions, we have gauged the challenges construction sites face, in particular tool theft and have designed a solution that supports this industry with the unique risks they are faced with.
Our CCTV Towers help to deter, detect and respond to unauthorised access in the most efficient way possible. This could be through further preventative measures like live voice-down audio messages and flashing lights, or by contacting keyholders and/or the Police.
Standing at 20 ft tall and painted bright yellow, they also provide a strong criminal deterrent to any unauthorised individuals by informing them that the site is monitored.
And in situations where an incident occurs, we ensure to record high-quality, live video footage that can be used to support criminal investigations and the recovery of any stolen tools.
Limit Access Control
Although insider theft is a present threat, the larger threat is from external, unauthorised individuals accessing your site and stealing tools. Therefore, restricting access and implementing measures to control this will help to lower those risks.
Access control measures include PIN pads, turnstiles and access cards, all of which are only provided to authorised individuals and visitors.
These measures can also be utilised to track those entering and leaving the site, so if insider does occur then you may be able to use the access control system to establish who was present at the time of the crime.
Tool theft relies heavily on opportunity, so the less you provide, the better protected they are against the risks presented to them.
Mark Tools With a Unique Symbol
Retrieving tools back following incidents of theft is extremely unlikely, however, by marking your tools with an individual marking this boosts the chances of tool recovery and in deterring the crime from happening in the first place.
As mentioned, criminals appreciate easy targets and tools with markings on are not as simple to sell on as those without them.
However, any marking needs to be permanent, simply using a pen and writing your company’s name on them is not enough. This can be removed quickly, so consider options where you created permanent markings in the metal or explore tracking options if there are any available in the local area.
By doing this, you will increase the criminal deterrent factor of them, but also ensures if they are stolen you can inform the Police of specific markings to look out for or inform the public of.
Keep an Inventory and Track Them Regularly
Keeping an inventory and tracking this on a regular basis can help deter crime and keep an eye on your tools to ensure you remain on top of any missing items.
With construction sites, especially large development projects, there is a high likelihood that you will have numerous tools on-site which may be difficult to keep an eye on and manage.
Therefore, having an inventory at the beginning of the project will help establish what tools are kept on site and how many there are. By doing this, you start the project well-organised and can simply check in at the end of each day or week to ensure you still have them on-site as needed.
You can also add any new tools onto the inventory and adjust it to your needs.
Utilise Remote Monitoring
Having CCTV on-site is always beneficial in some capacity, however, simply recording events restricts the effectiveness of your security and pushes you to work retrospectively.
To enhance your security further and boost your construction tools’ protection, you need to ensure your system works both proactively and reactively on your construction site.
Mobile CCTV backed by remote monitoring services offers that approach.
It ensures that any live footage is being monitored 24/7 by trained professionals who assess threats and respond accordingly to those that are deemed as genuine concerns to your site.
This ensures that incidents are dealt with in the moment, with the main goals being to prevent them from taking place or to stop it whilst the crime is still active, so that your tools remain on-site and safe.
Store Them Securely
Leaving any construction materials, equipment and tools out in the open for all to view, leaves them completely vulnerable to theft. However, with construction tool theft so prevalent, you cannot afford to lose them through such a simple error.
Ensuring they are stored within a secure unit that only those authorised can access.
Potentially consider placing them with a unit under a more concealed area of the construction site, however, with this you should always ensure you have CCTV monitoring this area. This is because concealed areas or blindspots can be enticing to criminals.
Keep Construction Tool Theft Under Control With WCCTV
Keeping construction tool theft under control will ensure your project remains on schedule and finances protected.
The best way to do this is through preventative measures, the main method being with CCTV monitoring. Often considered the most effective, accurate security solution for construction sites, our CCTV Towers work to detect, deter and deal with crime before it impacts your site.
Working as your own virtual security guard, they effectively identify threats and weed out false alarms, so that only genuine threats are responded to. Whether that be through a live voice-down audio message and/or calling the Police.
If the tools are taken away, so does the ability to complete your construction.
Get your construction site protected today by getting in touch with one of our security experts below!
