General Summary

 

Many businesses continue to have significant problems with the theft of office assets, plant, materials, tools, equipment and other valuable items.  It is commonly thought that criminals disburse much of the stolen property in exchange for cash and/or drugs as follows:

• to less reputable businesses who buy the stolen items at a much lower price than otherwise available to them;

• to tradesmen who can utilise the stolen items to generate their income;

• to distribution outlets in other states;

• cut up and sold as scrap material for cash;

• via eBay, pawnbrokers, car park markets, second-hand goods magazines & papers, etc.

 

If stolen items are subsequently discovered in any form, identifying the rightful owner has been nigh on impossible to date.  Serial numbers, id tags and painted identification are very easy to remove or disguise.  It also follows that those caught in possession cannot be charged with theft but with the much lesser charge of being in possession of stolen goods – and only if reasonable proof can be found.  This ensures large incentives remain for repeat crimes with little chance of the criminal being caught let alone charged with a significant offence.  As such, it has become a multi-billion dollar annual problem for businesses right across Australia.

 

A comprehensive approach to loss prevention would involve businesses adopting a market reduction approach[1] to reduce the theft, loss and damage to company property.  A key element of this approach is property marking.

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Property marking has long been recognised as a crucial measure in discouraging and detecting crime and should therefore be considered when adopting a comprehensive loss prevention strategy.   No thief wants items that can be identified to their owner so marked items quickly become very unattractive to would-be thieves and they will typically look for easier, less risky targets.  MicroDOTS provide the simplest practical method of property marking available.

 

Property marking, associated signage and public education act to reduce the attractiveness of business assets to thieves by making them identifiable after the event.  It is recommended that this approach be undertaken across any business subject to potential theft, thereby discouraging theft of company property and significantly reducing the risk of security breaches at business premises.

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[1]     Australian Institute of Criminology. The market reduction approach to reducing property crime.  AICrime Reduction Matters No. 32. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology