Remote worksites with inadequate vehicle and site security and little or no checks in the used equipment market allow thieves in the US to steal an estimated $1 billion of equipment annually. Non-standard numbering systems and incomplete or non-existent owner records mean that officers have little accurate data to investigate and prosecute equipment theft. NER's solution to the equipment theft problem is a specialized database of stolen heavy equipment and equipment ownership records. With tens of thousands of theft reports and millions of ownership records readily available, NER helps officers identify the status and ownership of a piece of heavy equipment - a labor intensive or impossible task at present.

Calling NER toll-free at 1-866-6-NERUSA, provides officers with COST-FREE access to NER operators 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These specialists are answering calls from officers, helping them locate identification numbers, and carrying out searches of the NER database. On-site support from specialist investigators, geographically specific theft alerts, and investigative training are also available free of charge to law enforcement officers. It is through fees from NER member insurance companies that these services can be offered free of charge to law enforcement.
If they choose, officers can also register on-line and search the NER database themselves via a secure internet connection, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Simply visit the NER website, www.NERusa.com, and select "Search the Database." After filling out a short registration form that includes identifying information, NER will authenticate the officer's law enforcement status and then validate the user's ID and password. At that point, officers and dispatchers are free to search the NER database at their convenience. NER specialists continue to be available via phone for follow up on any 'hits' made on-line.

To further increase loss information available to law enforcement, NER also provides an on-line theft reporting capability (www.NERusa.com) that allows self-insured equipment owners to submit their theft reports to be included in NER's database securely, in detail, and immediately on one simple form. Even if the loss occurred years ago, an item might still be recovered if registered with NER. This combination of technologies will provide the detail, speed and nationwide coverage never before seen in the use of data to fight equipment theft.

NER is also committed to deterring theft. Equipment owners are able to register their fleet on a pre-theft basis. Using high quality 4" by 5" stickers, owners show would be thieves that their unit is registered on a national database searchable by law enforcement and purchasers of used equipment.

For more information on NER's services, please see their website, www.NERusa.com and when you see a suspicious piece of stolen equipment, call NER toll-free at 1-866-6-NERUSA.

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