The continuing construction boom, low interest rates and the lack of raw materials are factors for increasing construction site theft. This has been shown by investigations by the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KFV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office. “Meanwhile, the amount of damage is developing towards 20 million euros,” said KFV expert Armin Kaltenegger in a media interview on Thursday. A survey in June 2021 showed that around 88 percent of the industry companies were affected.
Although there were fewer burglaries than in the past, the amount of damage increased, which was due to rising raw material prices and the ever more frequent theft of expensive machines. In 2013, a loss of ten million euros was recorded, but in 2017 this rose to a maximum of 18.5 million euros. Price increases on the international market and crises are partly responsible factors. “We will have major disruptions in supply chains due to the Ukraine crisis,” Kaltenegger stated.
A survey by the KFV of 101 construction companies and 49 construction machinery rental companies in June 2021 showed that around 88 percent of those surveyed had been affected by theft. The trend was for goods of ever higher quality, including vehicles and excavators, to be stolen – hence higher damage sums with a decrease in reported cases. “Before Corona there were 3,500 reports, but they have now fallen to almost 3,000,” said Peter Seidl, chief inspector of the Federal Criminal Police Office. There are an average of five to seven offenses per day, with the number of reported cases being highest on Mondays.
The reason for this is inadequate protection of construction sites. For example, at 117 observed construction sites, a sign saying “Entrance prohibited” was installed as a security measure, but this, like loose barrier tape, could not prevent the perpetrators from stealing. A third of those surveyed also refrain from filing a complaint due to the suspected low amount of damage and unsuccessful searches for perpetrators. In addition, as soon as a theft is reported to the insurance company and the sum has been paid out, the construction company considers the case closed.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, a list with the individual numbers of all valuables, the reliable locking of containers and cupboards for valuable materials and the installation of security cameras and alarm systems are advisable as a deterrent and help for subsequent investigations after a theft. Depending on the value of raw materials, building materials and construction machinery, thefts are targeted. “Currently it’s mostly wood and non-ferrous metals like copper,” said Seidl. Control inspector Klaus Autischer criticized the clearance rate of ten percent. “It would be important to us that petty theft should also be reported,” appealed Autischer.
Even the high logistical effort involved in theft of excavators or pallets with wood or sand did not deter perpetrators. Between mid-2018 and early 2020, a group of seven criminals installed a cable winch in the storage space of a minibus in order to be able to load heavy machinery and entire pallets of material. The damage amounted to 250,000 euros. In another case, a screed machine from a construction site in Austria was found two days later in front of a hotel in Kyiv. Despite an increasing trend, vehicles were only stolen in isolated cases. Small appliances are involved in 80 percent of cases, and copper and other recyclable materials such as wood in 40 percent.