The rising cost of materials theft from construction sites is on the rise. The Canadian Home Builders Association Edmonton Region said thefts at residential construction worksites have been a growing issue over the last several years and have only gotten worse over the pandemic.

“Sometimes, there’s upwards of tens of thousands of dollars in material stolen from a job site and it is ultimately borne by the residential construction industry, so the builder has to absorb the cost of the stolen items and then the cost of replacing those items and the labour that might go with it,” CEO Laura Bruno said.

“It’s incredibly important for both the residential construction industry as well as the community members to keep their eyes out and be reporting all this to the Edmonton police so they know where to allocate resources,” Bruno said.

Bruno said while reporting thefts will help police identify hot spots, there are still several other anti-theft measures builders can take, such as locking up tools, documenting all serial numbers and product types, marking materials with a specific colour of spray paint or bringing in security.

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Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/8077204/construction-site-thefts-edmonton/