Canterbury Police urge those working in the construction industry to do more to prevent opportunistic theft from construction sites, containers and vehicles.

Detective Senior Sergeant Scott Anderson says 'There are more trade people in the city as part of the rebuild and it is disappointing that thieves are targeting them and, in some cases, preventing them from working.

"At the end of January 2015 a $30,000 digger that had been stolen from a locked yard in the city was recovered by Police and a person charged with receiving stolen property.”

Police, the construction industry and the community working together can help prevent these thefts and the on-selling of stolen goods.

'It is astounding the lengths some burglars will go to and the loss to the owner is often far greater than the value of the stolen items. Unfortunately hundreds and thousands of dollars worth in damage can be caused taking something the thief might get a hundred dollars for,” explained Detective Senior Sergeant Anderson.

Investigations are ongoing into the theft of 50 bags of under floor insulation valued at $20,000.00 from a warehouse in January.

Canterbury Police often locate stolen property as part of investigations into other matters said Detective Senior Sergeant Anderson.

'Last week over $20,000 worth of stolen tools were located at a Bryndwr address as part of an unrelated investigation. On Tuesday (3 March 2015) a stolen tandem trailer loaded with concrete and construction equipment worth $30,000 was found in a secure lockup in Kainga.

"The trailer and some of the equipment, which were reported as being stolen 9 days earlier, had been repainted. One person was charged and Police have been able to return the majority of the equipment seized to the rightful owner.”

'Canterbury Police are determined to bring people to account for their dishonest actions and break the cycle of crime.

"It is very satisfying when we are able to return stolen contracting equipment and property back to their rightful owners so that they can continue with the good work they are doing as part of the rebuild.”

The most common thefts from those involved in the construction industry are power tools, trailers, plate compactors, generators and diesel fuel.

'It is really difficult to guard against thieves that target a property or go to great lengths to take item(s) but there are many simple steps we can all take to make it more difficult for the opportunistic thief. These include removing keys, installing kill switches, locking your vehicle when you move away from it and securing tools when they're not being used.”

Canterbury Police have a good relationship with storage facilities in the district and regularly contact them in an effort to prevent and identify those using them to conceal stolen property and conduct criminal activity.

'Buyer beware and the old saying ‘if something is too good to be true, it normally is' have never been more appropriate.”

'Social media sites, online auction sites, second hand dealers, pawn shops and word of mouth are all used by the criminal fraternity to sell stolen property. However the buyers of these ‘bargains' are inadvertently encouraging the cycle of criminal behaviour to continue. Receiving stolen property is an imprisionable offence so before you make that cash purchase think as it may cost you a lot more in the long run” says Detective Senior Sergeant Anderson.

The construction industry makes a concerted effort to secure their property by erecting fences and installing CCTV cameras and alarms. However tradies vehicles and on-site containers in remote locations are an easy target.

Canterbury Police encourage workers to record the serial numbers of large items and engrave smaller items so they are easily identifiable.

SNAP (Serial Number Action Partnership) is a New Zealand Police initiative that aims to prevent burglary and property offending by making it harder for criminals to sell stolen goods in New Zealand.

The SNAP website (http://www.snap.org.nz) allows you to enter, maintain and access the details of all of your important possessions or assets.

If your items are stolen you can retrieve and forward their details to Police and your insurance company.

This is a timely reminder to for everyone to report crime when it happens or as soon as you notice items have been stolen. This will help Police to identify and return recovered property to the rightful owner so they can continue their businesses and break the cycle of crime in Canterbury.

Source: New Zealand Police.