JERSEY CITY, N.J., and DES PLAINES, Ill. -- The National Equipment Register (NER), a division of Verisk Crime Analytics, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) have released their national report on 2011 heavy-equipment theft. This year's report continues to focus on what types of equipment are most likely to be stolen and recovered and where in the country thefts and recoveries occur. The report's objective is to help provide equipment owners, insurance companies, and law enforcement personnel with information that can be used to help allocate investigative resources and influence theft prevention efforts.

The report draws on data from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the NICB, and NER to provide a comprehensive analysis of heavy-equipment theft during the year. In 2011, the NCIC received 11,705 theft reports. In descending order, the five states with the most incidents of heavy-equipment theft were Texas, North Carolina, Florida, California, and Georgia. Together, those five states accounted for 40 percent of total equipment theft. Rounding out the top ten were Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The top ten states accounted for 59 percent of all thefts.

In 2011, 21 percent of heavy equipment stolen was recovered.

"The economic downturn has put financial pressure on equipment owners who have to be more careful than ever to invest in the right theft-prevention technologies and processes in the right places. The heavy equipment theft report allows them to do that," said David Shillingford, president of Verisk Crime Analytics.

Jim Schweitzer, chief operations officer at NICB, said, "The data provided by the report helps everyone involved with reducing thefts and recovering stolen loads work more efficiently and smarter, maximizing the resources that are available during a time when state budgets and police resources are limited."

The 2011 Heavy Equipment Theft Report can be downloaded by visiting http://www.ner.net/annual-theft-report.html.