AMI Data Helping to Bring Plant Thieves to Justice

Recovery data provided by plant and equipment tracking specialist AMI Group is being used by the Police in a bid to convict plant thieves.

In a recent example, a Welfare Unit worth £15,000 was stolen from a site in the West Midlands. Fortunately, the Welfare Unit had been fitted with an AMI Nexis tracking system which utilises GPS (Global Positioning System) street level mapping to pinpoint the exact location of the equipment in question. AMI’s monitoring station immediately advised that the stolen Welfare Unit had been taken to a site some 50 miles away. AMI’s customer was also able to login to the AMI Nexis web-based user portal to view its exact location and the route that had been taken when the unit was stolen.

The Police were advised and the AMI Group monitoring station continued to view the unit online until the Police arrived at the site in question. AMI’s customer was also able to go to the site and recover the stolen Welfare Unit. Following the theft, the Police are using the data provided by AMI Group to help build a case against the suspected plant thieves.

Peter Stockton, Operations Director at AMI Group said: “Due to our plant tracking devices and the AMI Nexis web portal, we have been able to present very detailed evidence to the Police, pinpointing exactly where the unit was stolen from, the route that was taken during transportation and the eventual destination where the stolen Welfare Unit was found and the suspects were apprehended. This is another means in our armoury in which we strive to combat against plant theft. It is also welcome news to our customer, as they can see some positive action being taken to help bring plant thieves to justice.”

AMI offers a number of state-of-the-art tracking solutions and fleet management systems for applications including plant and vehicle tracking. One of the company’s innovations is the AMI Nexis AT5, a palm sized, self-contained, battery operated tracking device which utilises state-of-the-art GPS, GSM and RF technology. Reporting to and visible via the AMI Nexis Software Platform 24/7, the AT5 is lightweight, small sized (54 x 65 x 37mm) and can be concealed almost anywhere on any asset.

Via its advanced battery management software, the AT5 unit has the capacity to last up to 20 years and it is backed by IP68 waterproof rating, ensuring it is robust and heavily protected. The device has the ability to be traced both outdoors and indoors even in very remote locations. In situations where GPS is unavailable, the device relays GSM cell site positions and the internal RF beacon can be activated to assist in locating stolen assets.