ISO and NICB Release 2010 Heavy-Equipment Theft Report

The National Equipment Register (NER), a division of Verisk’s ISO Crime Analytics and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) have released a national report on 2010 heavy-equipment theft. This year’s report continues to focus on the types of equipment most likely to be stolen and recovered, and the location of thefts and recoveries, said NER. The report’s objective is to help provide equipment owners, insurers and law enforcement personnel with information to help allocate investigative resources and influence theft prevention efforts.

“Recovering stolen equipment and identifying the rightful owners remains a challenge,” said Joe Wehrle, NICB president and CEO. “Improved equipment registration, theft reporting and law enforcement training have shown encouraging signs of success, and we’re confident the numbers will continue to improve.”

NER says the report draws on data from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the NICB and NER to provide a comprehensive analysis of heavy-equipment theft during the year. In 2010, the NCIC received 13,374 theft reports. In descending order, the five states with the most incidents of heavy-equipment theft were Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Together, those five states accounted for 43 percent of total equipment theft. Rounding out the top 10 were California, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio. The top 10 states accounted for 61 percent of all thefts. In 2010, 19 percent of heavy equipment stolen was recovered.