There are things you can do to minimise building site theft and vandalism.

Deliveries

• Aim to have hot water systems, air conditioning units, stoves and other valuable items delivered and installed on the same day.
• Don't leave unused materials on site for long periods of time.
• Arrange for materials to be stored out of general view.
• Check deliveries as soon as possible and report any damages or shortages immediately.
• Where possible install window security screens, solid wooden doors, window locks and other similar measures.
• Install expensive 'high risk' items, such as doors, locks, fittings and whitegoods as close to handover as possible.

Environment

• Keep sites tidy:
  remove bricks and other debris from the front of the site to reduce the likelihood of property damage, remove empty boxes for 'high risk' items to reduce the likelihood of theft or arson.
• Fence your property or display the lot number, name of builder, daytime and after hours contact number in a prominent location on the site.
• Contact the council to arrange for street lighting to deter offenders.
• Make personal contact with neighbouring occupied homes. Give them a contact name and phone number for the builder, typical hours of work on site, who to contact and what to do if they see suspicious activity.

Security and reporting

• Use security patrols as a deterrent, particularly on the night before handover.
• Set up security cameras and security lighting.
• Tell your local police if you have particular concerns about a property.
• Always follow up reports of criminal activity. Ask questions and make enquiries with staff, contactors and suppliers.
• Challenge unknown people on your site and ask why they are there - but don't take any unnecessary personal risk. Consider calling police first.
• Look about the site and determine vulnerable points that will attract criminals.
• Check identification of contractors and/ tradespeople on the site.
• Identify and mark all items of high risk. Put up signs to show that items have been property marked.

Suspicious activity

The following guidelines will help identify suspicious people on or near building sites.

People:

• on site in the dark or outside of normal building hours
• loitering in the area and later seen on the site
• removing materials that have recently been delivered or installed
• using vehicles with registration numbers obscured or missing
• loading materials into private vehicles
• making repeat visits to the site and removing materials each time
• removing property when there is no one else on site.

Report any suspicious activity, including:

• description of suspects
• vehicle registration numbers

immediately to the police on 131 444.

In the case of an emergency ring 000.

Or call BankSA Crime Stoppers on 1 800 333 000.

The following pamphlets can be downloaded from this site or you can get a copy from your local police station's Community Programs Section:

Building site theft: owners  PDF (98KB) 

Building site theft: tradespeople  PDF (243KB)