The officers used GPS technology to track the appliance, which thieves had stolen from a home under construction in Frisco. The suspects had already sold the oven by the time police found it, although the entire incident happened in one day.
The case of the stolen oven is just one example of construction theft, a common problem in a city with rapid growth and development. Between August 2007 and July 2008, Frisco builders reported more than 353 incidents of construction theft leading to nearly $719,000 in lost property.
Nationally the problem costs builders $5 billion each year and can account for more than 1 percent of a home's cost, said Gopal Ahluwalia, National Association of Home Builders staff vice-president of research.
The building community has become quite cautious of this fact, and they are taking all of the necessary steps [to prevent theft], but the problem is still there, Ahluwalia said.
The GPS technology used to track the missing oven is among the newer methods for combating construction theft. Other crime deterrents include everything from high-tech camera systems to more primitive methods, such as guard dogs and barbed wire fences.
The Frisco Police Department is addressing the problem by working with builders to reduce theft. Builders may e-mail the department when they are expecting a large delivery, and officers will patrol the area more frequently. Officers are also aware of all construction in their districts so they can keep a close eye on the sites.
Police officials also meet regularly with local builders to foster a solid partnership against construction theft.
We invite the builders to quarterly meetings to talk about construction thefts and exchange ideas on what we can do to help them and what they can do to help themselves to make their construction sites more theft-proof, FPD spokesman Sgt. Gerald Meadors said.
Darling Homes builder Jonathan Booth said that the meetings are helpful and productive. He said that Darling Homes has only reported one construction theft in the last two years, after a thief stole $10,000 in copper wiring from a million dollar home under construction in Chapel Creek.
There are some building companies that have a tremendous amount of theft, but we've looked at ourselves and count ourselves as being blessed that we haven't had that much, Booth said.
Although that company's last copper theft occurred two years ago, other builders have not been as fortunate. Thieves stole more than $140,000 worth of copper in spools, tubing, wire, and other forms in Frisco between August 2007 and July 2008. Often other parts of the home are damaged in an attempt to appropriate the valuable metal.
Darling Homes will soon be increasing their number of homes under construction in Frisco, and Booth said he knows that the risk of construction theft is always present. Company officials are looking into installing camera or GPS systems to continue to fight the problem before becomes a financial burden.
It's working with the information that the police department can provide, working within your own company to stay ahead of the curve, and looking to the future, Booth said of the company's success in this area.
Meadors said that the police department will continue to assist builders in discouraging construction theft, but that the builders need to be proactive.
The police can't be everywhere, he said. It's really up to the builder to try to secure their property as much as they can. We're just trying to help.
