December 2019 Building and Construction Industry Crime Statistics
As 2019 came to a close, with a shorter month of activity due to the Xmas and NY break, PACT Site Security reported a total of 27 incidents of burglary, theft and damage to police during December, including 4 x burglaries, 16 x stealing and 7 x damage reports. Incidents occurred across 21 suburbs with 67% of reported offences occurring in the southern suburbs.
Reported offences were sporadic with the largest number of offences occurring in Treeby (3), Coolbellup (3), Banksia Grove (2), Pearsall (2) Armadale (2), Middle Swan (2) and Southern River (2). Damage reports increase with the commencement of the school holidays.
Instantaneous hot water units remain the high-risk item with 6 reported stolen over the month, 3 from the Calleya Estate in Treeby, and 1 from Singleton, stolen from their installed positions. A burglary in Singleton targeted a hot water system white goods, still in the box.
The installation of GPS tracking in hot water units has again resulted in the arrest and recovery of the property after the theft from an Impressions building site in Gosnells, more information here. 2020 is off to a great start with the recovered of another 5 stolen hot water units after the theft of a hot water unit from Banksia Grove, more information here
With the year coming to an end we review the past 12 months and the continued impact of crime and illegal rubbish dumping within the building and construction industry.
Total number of reports received: 434
Total reports to Police: 391 (100 Burglaries, 14 Att Burglaries, 232 Stealing, 45 Damage)
Top reported items: 56 x hot water units
46 x Water meters
23 x Electrical cable
Top reported suburbs Treeby 45
Baldivis 20
Wellard 20
Piara Waters 18
Banksia Grove 16
Offences investigated: 106 (16 remain under investigation)
Offender charged : 28 (6 x Burglary, 19 x Stealing, 3 x Damage)
Property Recovered: $20,000+ (15 x hot water units, 1 x oven, 1 x hot plate, 1 x rangehood, doors, light fittings, timber, cement, insulation and pot plants)
Illegal rubbish dumping reports to local councils: 33
Rubbish removed by councils/offenders/Infringements issued: 18
Total reports compare to 421 reports received in 2018. With improved reporting systems and increased membership, during 2019, this could be viewed as an overall decrease in reports. Arrests increased by 75% from 2018 and 100% increase in the value of property recovered.
2019 has seen good results in identifying offenders and increasing the awareness amongst offenders and the wider community that crime will not be tolerated and every effort will be made to locate and charge persons responsible for building site crime.
PACT Site Security has been in discussions with WA Police since 2018 and approval has now been provided to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding with building and construction peak industry bodies, PACT Site Security and WA Police. The MOU provides clear direction on the sharing of information between PACT Site Security, the building and construction industry, our members and the WA Police, with a continued effort to reduce building and construction industry crime.
From a policing perspective, the MOU states:
‘Programs such as the Partnership Against Crime Taskforce (PACT) have enormous potential to reduce crime and provide a significant saving of police resources. Appropriate Police support will, therefore, be provided to ensure the construction industry has confidence that the significant resources it has assigned are reducing the impact of crime and that the program is worth supporting in the future‘
2020 will see a continued focus with our members on the reporting of ALL crime, the identification of high crime areas and allocation of appropriate resources to these areas. With both proactive and reactive theft reduction strategies we will continue to closely liaise with WA Police through the MOU and work closely with industry bodies and their members to provide a holistic approach toward the reduction of crime and illegal rubbish dumping and to provide a safe and secure environment for members, trades and the wider community.
Builders, land developers and civil contractors can contact 1800 272 836 for more information.As