Theft of Agriculture and construction plant and equipment is a major problem for the UK and is perceived by criminals to be a low risk and profitable crime.

Current estimates say that it costs the UK £1million each week and this is predicted to rise. Although the cost of replacing the stolen property is often insured it is the uninsured cost of

Downtime and idle crews along with the affect of increased insurance premiums that could have a serious affect on the profitability of some UK businesses.

Plant is stolen primarily for export markets or resale in the UK. Thieves utilise trucks, trailers, low loaders and containers to transport stolen plant. Self-propelled plant may be driven off site. The services of legitimate haulers, freight forwarders and shippers may be employed to export plant.

The majority of plant theft is a highly organised activity. Professional thieves may ‘steal to order’, targeting specific plant items in advance. Stolen plant will often be removed to remote locations within hours of the theft.

Another common type of theft is ‘fraudulent conversion’, otherwise known as ‘theft by deception’, which occurs when an item of plant is hired from a plant hire company using false identification and as a result, it subsequently disappears.

Plant most at risk

• Excavators
• Telehandlers
• Trailers
• Generators
• Dumpers
• Compressors
• Rollers
• Tractors
• Breakers

At GRS1 Security we supply trained personnel to undertake a variety of responsibilities, from access control to 24 hour surveillance, CCTV monitoring, plant and equipment protection.