August 2020 Building and Construction Industry Statistics
August has seen a continued reduction in crime from the current 2020 monthly average of 37 reports with only 16 relating to crime. 15 reports from residential building sites and 1 report from civil contracting. Illegal rubbish dumping from builders and land developers took the total number of reports to 28.
Burglaries were down with a single burglary, and 2 attempted burglaries reported. Stealing offences were slightly up from the previous month with 10 reports with 3 damage reports also recorded. 12 Illegal rubbish reports topped the number of reports received.
The most significant crime was the theft of a submersible pump from a civil construction site in the Catalina estate. The pump, valued at $30,000, was extracted from a bore casing in a bush area within the estate. Thieves disconnected the pump left the area unseen.
Offenders targeted a building site in Tammar Circuit, Brabham, breaking in and stealing a number of boxed tiles and grout with offenders unsuccessful in attempting to break into building sites in Bushmead and Lakelands.
A building site in Mosaic Road, Alkimos had an installed hot water system stolen with offenders unsuccessfully trying to remove another hot water system from a site in Ellenbrook.
With the WA Govt recently announcing a Scrap Metal Industry crackdown (more HERE), scrap metal theft reports remain low with the theft of a single water meter in Hammond Park and a single incident of electrical cable theft from a site in Bennett Springs.
As increased building activity commences the theft of building materials has shown a slight increase to the previous month. Lintels and brickies hardware were stolen from several sites in Treeby and the neighbouring suburb Cockburn Central.
With the increased reporting of illegal rubbish dumping, mainly into builders site bins, PACT continues to work towards increasing the awareness of the impact of illegal rubbish dumping and crime within the building and construction industry. Members of the public have assisted investigators in the identification of persons involved in three illegal rubbish dumping incidents during August.
Investigators spoke with a member of the public who witnessed the dumping of vehicle parts into a bin and front verge of a BGC Housing Group site in Burns Beach. Liaison with Joondalup Council resulted in the issue of an infringement to a male person and the removal of the vehicle parts from the site.
Investigators are continuing to liaise with Wanneroo Council after a member of the public followed a vehicle and its occupants to a residential address in Mindarie. The occupants were seen to dump two lounge suites on two BGC Housing Group Sites in Mindarie.
A quantity of asbestos sheeting was dumped on a building site in Southern River, as no evidence of the offenders was found PACT investigators liaised with the Gosnells Council who agreed to remove the asbestos due to its location on the front verge of the site.
We believe the reduction in crime can be mainly attributed to the closure of WA borders in April and the inability to move illicit drugs into WA. The theft of Hot Water Systems, hotplates, ovens and range hoods has traditionally been driven by the sale and use of drugs. With PACT members burglary reports down by 80%, compared to pre-COVID months and border closures, it’s a timely reminder of the influence drugs has on crime.
Another factor may be the Government Job Seeker and Job Finder payments. This could be providing sufficient funds to maintain lifestyles that previously were supported by the theft and sale of stolen goods.
As we know, all good things come to an end, the Govt payments will be reduced in October, and the WA border will eventually open. Added to this is the increased building activity, which will undoubtedly see an increase in building and construction Industry crime in the coming months.
There is no better time than now for builders, land developers and civil contractors to join the Building and Construction Industry PACT Program. Working with PACT will assist your business and the industry to put the brakes on crime and illegal rubbish dumping and create clean, safe and secure communities.
The accurate reporting of crime and illegal rubbish dumping heightens the awareness of the issues faced by the building and construction industry amongst industry stakeholders, WA Police, local government, and the wider community to enable a unified approach to reduce crime.
PACT Site Security continues to work with WA Police and its members to provide efficient and effective reporting systems to identify crime trends within the building and construction industry. Accurate reporting of all crime activates resources to reduce theft risk, track and recover property, as well as deter future incidents. Police liaison, GPS Tracking, CCTV, security patrols and community engagement are just some of the strategies implemented.
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