Heavy Equipment Thefts Decline 19 Percent Since 2008: NICB Report

In 2012, a total of 10,925 heavy equipment thefts were reported to law enforcement—a decrease of 7 percent from the 11,705 reported in 2011, according to a report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau on heavy equipment thefts in 2012. When compared with the 13,511 reported thefts in 2008, there has been an overall 19 percent reduction in heavy equipment thefts.

The report, co-produced with the National Equipment Register (NER), examines heavy equipment theft data submitted by law enforcement to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and profiles that data according to theft state, theft city, theft month, equipment manufacturer, equipment style (type) and year of manufacture. The report also examines heavy equipment recoveries in 2012 based on those same criteria. NER is a division of Verisk Crime Analytics, a Verisk Analytics company.

Texas ranked number one in 2012 with 1,401 reported thefts. In second place was North Carolina with 1,037 thefts followed by Florida in third with 890 thefts. In fourth place was California with 686 thefts and tied for fifth—Georgia and South Carolina with 595 each. The top five cities with the most thefts were Houston, Texas (163); Miami, Fla. (107); Conroe, Texas (83); Oklahoma City, Okla. (79) and Fresno, Calif. (64).

See the full report here.

The three most stolen heavy equipment items in 2012 were:

1. Mowers (riding or garden tractor: 5,363)

2. Loaders (skid steer, wheeled: 1,943)

3. Tractors (wheeled or tracked: 1,459)

Heavy equipment manufactured by John Deere was the number one theft target in 2012 followed in order by Kubota Tractor Corp., Bobcat, Caterpillar and Toro.

As for recoveries, only 20 percent of heavy equipment stolen in 2012 was found, making it a costly crime for insurance companies, equipment owners and rental agencies.

Source: NICB