WEST CHESTER TWP. — The building boom here is attracting thieves looking to steal construction equipment.

        West Chester Township police recently arrested three men who they said are part of a growing theft trend throughout the Tristate that has targeted residential and commercial construction sites.

        Early on March 8, police along Interstate 75 pulled over a rented truck for an equipment violation. They discovered $3,000 in stolen tools and equipment that investigators eventually traced to seven construction sites in this Butler County township.

        Two Covington men, Scott W. Beach, 34, of the 1300 block of Banklick Street. and Kenny M. Miller, 37, of the 3700 block of Decoursey Avenue, were charged with three felony counts of break ing and entering.

        A day later West Chester police arrested another man, George Torline, 31, of the 500 block of West River Road in Silver Grove, Ky., in a unrelated incident. Mr. Torline was arrested near 4700 Muhlhauser Road and was charged with receiving stolen goods consisting of construction tools.

        Throughout the Tristate, thefts of construction vehicles, equipment, tools and appliances are on the rise, say police and insurance officials.

        In Ohio, the loss from construction site thefts is in excess of $200 million a year, said Glenn Drees, loss-control consultant at Schiff, Kreidler-Shell, an agency that provides insurance and risk services to contractors.

        In Kentucky, the loss is estimated at $150 million annually, Mr. Drees said.

        West Chester Police Lt. Commander Gil Flick said the three recent arrests are the result of increased patrols of township construction sites. But the large number of construction sites in the booming community, combined with warmer weather and night-time work “sometimes makes monitoring the sites difficult.”

        “We are aware of the problem and are continuing our efforts to curtail it,” Lt. Flick said.

        The police efforts are being aided by more aggressive private security and greater cooperation and communication from construction firms.

        Last month officials from Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc., a commercial and industrial builder based in West Chester Township, said they cut theft losses from $10,000 in 1997 to $2,000 last year after installing alarms on tool trailers and notifying local police of where their jobs are located.

        The company uses private security to protect larger projects nearing completion.

Suit claims 30 years of bias by city police
Case statements
Vote defeats ban on same-sex rites
Candidate donations out in open
PULFER: Barbie's boy toy
Sierra Club admits flawed study
Sinn Fein official raises funds for IRA political arm
State DNA database leads to rape charge
W. Chester OKs 'village'
Hamilton uses $300K grant for low-rent housing
Lebanon wavers on rentals law
Neighbors say meeting about tower just show
OxyContin plan in Ky. is 3-way
Police target builder thefts
Push on to pass school levy
Taft calls school-funding truce
2 in Cleveland contract Legionnaires' disease
'Blue Dogs' push for reform
City won't give funds to Community Council
Dayton campus is sole U.S. host for religious art show
Disease closes Brown Co. shelter
Get on this bus, get a clue for life
Hospital cited for troubles in ICUs
Serviceman killed in Kuwait survived Ft. Campbell crash
Short Story Festival to be at UC next month
Tristate A.M. Report