Police Officers Honored at The Rental Show for Combating Equipment Theft

February 17, 2006 — Two California law enforcement officers were honored at The Rental Show for their efforts in combating heavy equipment theft in the rental equipment industry. Detective Lou Koven of the Los Angeles Police Department and Investigator Gabe Marquez of the California Highway Patrol received the ARA Insurance Services/National Equipment Register (AIS/NER) Award, which recognizes a law enforcement officer or agent who has performed exceptional services to the rental industry through the recovery of rental equipment or through theft prevention initiatives.

 

Koven and Marquez are responsible for breaking up a well-established ring of equipment thieves in California and recovering $3.5 million worth of heavy equipment from nine states, along with more than $200,000 in cash and more than 25,000 individual items, resulting in 28 arrests. In another recovery, more than $2 million worth of equipment was recovered.

 

The award was established in 2004 as part of the partnership among the American Rental Association (ARA), ARA Insurance Services (AIS) and the National Equipment Register (NER), a partnership central to ARA's efforts to help their members combat the serious problem of equipment theft in the rental industry. As a member benefit, ARA offers its members the opportunity, at no cost, to list 1,000 pieces of equipment on the National Equipment Register database.

 

NER's database and its police hotline provide law enforcement with 24-hour access to equipment identification experts, and data on equipment losses and ownership from equipment owners, insurance companies, and manufacturers.