A new construction building boom is usually a good thing these days, but new construction may lead to a booming burglary business as well. The problem is particularly serious in California cities like Roseville, where police are receiving an unusually high volume of reports of theft from new and under-construction neighborhoods.
“The loss could be from a few dollars, to a tool, to thousands of dollars with some of the new appliances,” local police spokesman Rob Baquera told CBS Sacramento. He added many thieves are also targeting brand new homes with appliances and other valuable electronics already installed. The break-ins are easy to camouflage since in many of these developments, few neighbors have moved in and current residents are used to seeing large trucks and hearing noises from the unoccupied homes.
New Construction Represents Opportunity for Thieves
New construction is particularly attractive to burglars in large part because there are a number of the usual deterrents missing from the partially completed homes. For example:
Security systems
Locks
Doors and windows
While all of these items might seem like a given in a finished residence, partially-built homes often lack some or all. Even if doors and windows are present, with so many different individuals coming in and out of a building under construction, they are often left unlocked after hours, making it easy for thieves to simply walk in through the front door and load up on valuable appliances, building materials, or tools left on-site overnight.
How to Protect Your Properties
If you are concerned about burglary and losses on your properties, consider using a portable security system to monitor the premises. Alert contractors that you require all entrances to be secured at night and try to discourage workers from leaving tools or valuable materials, such as stone countertops, for example, on the site overnight prior to installation.
In Roseville, the problem is so significant the police force is taking things a step further. “We have bait property we can put out that will hopefully be able to trigger a criminal reaction,” observed Baquera. In the neighborhoods affected, some of the charges could well include grand theft and felony if the thieves are caught and tied to other robberies.