MACHINERY IS TARGET FOR THIEVES FIXES SOUGHT FOR BURGLARIES.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

Theft of construction and gardening equipment - long a problem throughout much of Southern California - is spreading across Ventura County, where officials are meeting to curb the problem.

Thousand Oaks City Council member Jacqui Irwin called for the formation of a Business Crime Prevention Task Force to address the thefts and burglaries.

A special meeting was held Wednesday with police from Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley and members of the business community from various parts of Ventura County, including Simi, Camarillo, Somis and the Conejo Valley.

``We've had a series of burglaries, break-ins at rental yards in the region. It's a big, big problem,'' said Sgt. Robert Sparks, supervisor of the Crime Prevention Bureau for the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

``We've had landscaping equipment stolen from landscapers. We've had a large amount of burglaries of computers from office buildings. All of that has raised a concern.''

While police say the problem is on the rise, they have not kept separate statistics to measure it.

Businesses suspect the thefts could be the work of organized gangs, noting they have no problem getting through barbed wire and chained storage facilities. But police say they are not sure who is responsible for the uptick in thefts.

Sparks said the new effort with the Business Crime Prevention Task Force in Thousand Oaks is to ``improve communication between the business community and the police department, similar to a Neighborhood Watch program.''

Sparks said the burglaries from landscaping and construction sites became particularly evident last summer, although authorities say the problem began developing years ago.

``It involves all of Southern California, all up and down the coast. They are seeking high-value items, welders, chain saws, commercial-type tools of high value. These types of items have been taken from the backs of trucks and locked storage facilities.''

Some construction crews have gone to great lengths to protect equipment. For example, crews working to widen the Ventura Freeway between Oxnard and Ventura often dangle heavy cement mixers and other equipment from tall cranes at the end of the day to keep them out of reach of thieves.

``It's extremely disturbing how many businesses in the area have been affected by this,'' Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Irwin said.

Elaine Barreca, a spokeswoman for the American Rental Association, called Southern California one of the nation's hotbeds for equipment theft, partly because of the amount of construction going on here year-round.

In a ranking of states with the highest number of thefts of construction equipment, California moved from No. 4 in 2003 to No. 3 in 2004, behind North Carolina and Texas, according to the National Equipment Register.

The National Equipment Register, a service that works with business owners and law enforcement to provide information on equipment theft, reports that California is among five states that accounted for 38 percent of equipment theft in the nation in 2004.

``Our data comes from insurance companies, law enforcement, equipment rental business owners and equipment owners,'' said Glen Sider, operations manager for the National Equipment Register.

``California is always in the top five,'' said Sider. ``Climate-wise, it's construction. Where there is a lot of building, there is a need for equipment. The thieves know where to go.''

``Theft is a big problem, from $300 million to $1 billion a year (nationally) - it all depends upon what you consider the cost of theft,'' he said. ``Is it just the cost of the item or the total cost including labor costs, delayed projects, and costs for insurance companies handling the claims? Either way, it's it's a huge, national problem.''

Dave Tuttle, president of Conejo Complete Landscape, was one of about a dozen landscapers who attended Wednesday's meeting to complain about being victimized.

He said he knew of 30 recent burglaries from landscapers in the area, including his own business. ``From big companies to small companies, it's all the same story. They are even breaking into people's garages.''

The business people discussed with police the possibility of setting up a central yard where large construction tools could be stored with round-the-clock security and the possibility of setting up a computer network to report crimes, and alert businesses when burglars are hitting a particular area.

Sgt. Patrick McCarty, who investigated burglaries for the Los Angeles Police Department in the Van Nuys area, said the problem has been going on for years and is connected in some cases to methamphetamine users stealing to support their drug habits.

There have been recent thefts from home construction sites, individual homes where the owners are remodeling and from new school construction sites in the Los Angeles Unified School District, he said.

``We get a few a month. There are consistent construction site thefts. It's an easy target and you can resell the tools. If it's a crime of opportunity, the recommendation is, don't leave the tools about, or lock them up,'' he said.

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Builders routinely hang generators and cement mixers from giant cranes to foil thieves. These hang over the project for widening the Ventura Freeway over the Santa Clara River in Oxnard.

(2) Construction equipment dangles from a crane at the construction project for widening the Ventura Freeway over the Santa Clara River in Oxnard. The builders routinely hang cement mixers and generators to prevent theft.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer