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Live Video Monitoring: Effectively Deterring Costly Construction Theft and Damage

Posted by Ryan Cox on Aug 4, 2021

New housing is one of the largest consumers of lumber. When interest and mortgage rates fell during 2020, it brought many more buyers to the single-family housing market. Factor in sawmills that couldn’t keep up with demand and it created the perfect storm for a lumber shortage.

Like any lesson in simple economics, when demand exceeds supply, prices tend to rise. The increased prices have led to a type of underground lumber market which has driven up criminal activity, according to a supply chain expert from British Standards Institution.

All of this comes as no surprise to us, as witnessed in the following videos:

A Trespasser Carrying Wire Cutters Accessed a Construction Site

In the first incident, one of our trained Stealth security professionals saw someone access a Seattle construction site by cutting the wire on the perimeter fence. Our operator immediately called to dispatch local police. Once inside the site, the individual made his way around the site. Responding officers arrived within minutes and arrested the trespasser.

Suspect Got into the C-Can While Trespassing on a Construction Site

In the second incident, we see someone on a construction site after hours opening the door of a C-can and briefly looking inside. While he headed towards a building under construction, one of our monitoring operators called police. When officers arrived, our operator informed them of the suspect’s whereabouts. They quickly located the trespasser, handcuffed him and walked him out of the site.

Trespasser Arrested After Stealing Supplies from a Storage Trailer

A trained Stealth security operator witnessed a trespasser by the storage trailer on a site. The suspect then walked away as our operator followed him with a Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera. The individual returned to the trailer, opened its doors and began removing items. Our operator contacted police. When officers arrived, they located the intruder and placed him under arrest.

Pair Caught Stealing Lumber from a Site

Finally, we caught a pair of trespassers parking their truck and flatbed trailer in front of some houses under construction. They exited the truck, entered one of the homes and quickly began loading lumber and other supplies into their trailer. Our operator acted quickly and contacted the local sheriff’s department. Officers arrived minutes later and made an arrest.

How to Protect Your Valuable Materials from Construction Theft

Anytime materials or equipment is stolen from a construction site, it can have ripple effects. Not only is there a cost to replace the stolen items, but there could also be project delays that would impact timelines and budgets, both of which could exceed the price of the stolen good.

Remote video surveillance integrates trained security professionals with analytics-based cameras. When the technology in the cameras spot something suspicious, it will alert a monitoring operator, located in a remote video monitoring center. The operator can quickly assess the situation and take immediate action. As you saw in each case in the video, because of our quick action, police arrived while the suspects were still on the scene and before too much damage and loss occurred.

If you are interested in a proactive security solution for your next construction project, contact us.