A landscaping company’s employees were working in the back of a woman’s home in Atlanta. While they were in the back, brazen thieves stole more than $10,000 in lawn equipment from her front lawn. According to a CBS Atlanta news story, the theft happened in a few minutes and in broad daylight.
The news story quotes the resident as saying she’s heard about similar incidences happening in the community. This in spite of the community having security patrol and watchful neighbors. The story goes on to quote a landscaping employee who said there has been a growing number of thieves targeting lawn equipment.
“Equipment should be locked up when necessary and placed in direct sight of cameras on the property,” writes CBS Atlanta’s Savannah Louie. “Landscapers should consider installing GPS tracking devices on tools.”
The story urges residents to not chase after these crooks. They are likely to be armed.
The Growing Number of Lawn Equipment Thefts
This isn’t an isolated incident. Unfortunately, lawn equipment theft happens often. Do a search for it and you’ll discover many news stories. Not only is the company dealing with costly side effects of lawn equipment theft but also bad publicity. Besides, lawn equipment theft can bring a business to a standstill.
FOX32 in Illinois reports on a lawn equipment theft crime ring stole more than 40 items. Detectives also found firearms that were modified into fully automatic weapons. Imagine what would have happened if they had not arrested the suspect. The arrested individual may have used the firearms to steal more landscaping equipment and hurt someone. Or something worse and unimaginable.
A Sherman, Texas news report reveals the story of someone stealing a landscaper’s trailer filled with lawn equipment worth thousands of dollars. It happened while an employee was on a break. Upon returning, the trailer and everything it had in it disappeared.
This included two mowers, two weed eaters, an edger, and a push mower. Unfortunately, he was still paying off some of the equipment. Now he’s stuck paying for something he doesn’t have anymore. He went door-to-door asking neighbors if they caught the incident on camera and nothing came from that.
A lawn service had $5,000 worth of lawn equipment stolen in Monroe, Michigan. In New Brunswick, NJ, a couple targeted lawn equipment. They drove around neighborhoods looking for lawn equipment, lighting, lawn decorations, and birdfeeder to steal.
One victim posted about the theft on social media. As a result, more victims came forward. The police investigated the thefts and obtained video recordings from multiple resources that caught the couple on video. They arrested the couple.
One incident of lawn equipment theft can be debilitating to landscaping and lawn businesses. The business may not be able to do any work until they replace the stolen items. When this happens, the business loses a lot of money every day it goes without the lawn equipment. Moreover, to get back to serving customers, they may have to rent or buy replacements for the stolen items.
Thanks to the supply chain snarls, it may not be easy to find rentals or replacements. Inflation isn’t helping as things cost more. A Cleveland.com story says there are backorders on lawn equipment and the equipment costs 10% more. WNEP confirms the same.
So, it’s critical to prevent theft from happening in the first place. Is that even possible considering lawn equipment is constantly on the move? Fortunately, there’s a proactive security system that can help deter theft.
How to Help Deter Lawn Equipment Theft
The security solution is video surveillance. It has helped the Houston police arrest four people who stole $400,000 worth of equipment that included two trucks, one van, and lawn equipment.
The video showed people breaking into a lawn business using bolt cutters to enter the property. Then, they loaded two flatbeds with stolen edgers, a pressure washer, an air compressor, lawnmowers, and more. Apparently, the thieves weren’t in a hurry because they were on the property for several hours.
What’s scary is that someone was asleep when all of this happened. The company got lucky and had 99% of the stolen requirement returned.
Unlike most traditional security systems and technologies, remote video surveillance takes a proactive approach to security. Your business and lawn equipment can have eyes on it at all times to help ensure everything remains where it belongs. Your workers don’t need to leave one person to stand guard or put anyone at risk.
Trained monitoring operators watching your lawn equipment are working from a remote location. Unlike the employee who was asleep, their lives will never be at risk. This allows them to focus on one thing: stopping theft. That’s their main job. They don’t have to split their attention between landscaping and theft prevention.
Watching cameras for hours can be a tedious job. That’s why the trained monitoring operators don’t work alone. They have video analytics to help them identify suspicious activity in real-time. Together, they can watch your business and take action as soon as a problem arises.
Such an action may be issuing an audio warning over an on-site speaker. If this doesn’t deter the thieves, then the operator can call the police. Everything recorded is saved for searching and reviewing at any time.
As you compare security technologies, ask about lighting. You want to be sure whatever solution you choose can make out faces and identifying information day and night. As you interview video surveillance companies, here’s a list of best questions to ask a security company to help you in your efforts. As you narrow the list, ask to see their security videos.
In addition to deterring crime, remote video surveillance can deliver a quick ROI as clients often get a return on their investment within months. Check out this free guide on Remote Video Surveillance: More Than Just Catching Criminals.
Why Choose ECAM to Help Prevent Lawn Equipment Theft?
As you do your research on video surveillance, be sure to add ECAM to the list. You will have a variety of security options. Our security experts can review your business and budget requirements to create a customized security solution that can help deter lawn equipment theft by monitoring your most expensive assets around the clock.
Remote video surveillance systems help save on many costs. You’ll not only reduce lawn equipment theft but also cut your risk and potentially lower insurance premiums. In addition to achieving a fast ROI, some clients report experiencing an increase in their revenues.
Here are some benefits that Stealth remote video surveillance can help with:
- Maximized security: The combination of human operators, video analytics, security cameras, monitoring, and audio speakers bolster security to help prevent crime.
- Faster response times: Unlike traditional security systems, trained monitoring operators can spot something before and as it happens. They can contact law enforcement and provide updates in real-time. Stealth has relationships with police departments across North America. When they get a call from Stealth, they know there’s a problem and typically respond right away.
- Liability protection: The recordings give you the evidence you need for insurance claims and lawsuits.
- 24/7 monitoring: You won’t need to have your onsite employees stand guard over your equipment. That’s what the monitoring operators do for you.
You gain many advantages when you go with ECAM’s video surveillance services. As mentioned before, ECAM has offices all around the U.S. and Canada. Because of this, the company has strong relationships with local departments across North America. Stealth customers like you benefit from these partnerships because emergency operations typically react quickly knowing Stealth is a reliable source thanks to video verification.
The other advantage of choosing Stealth is that we have experts in multiple industries including landscaping, lawn equipment, and any commercial property with outdoor assets. The ideal security setup varies by industry.
Your customized solution can maximize your security while keeping costs as low as possible. A security architect will ask questions to understand your requirements and budget. Then, they can devise a security design that provides what you need without any unnecessary extras.
Video surveillance technology constantly evolves. It’s getting less expensive, more effective, and more efficient. Experienced security companies have the resources to make it happen. To learn more about remote video surveillance and how this proactive security solution can help prevent crime, lower your liability and risk, and save on costs, contact us today
