Roofing supplies dropped off ahead of a job are disappearing from driveways in Kansas City, Kansas, and police say thieves are using the storm cleanup as cover (via KCTV5). The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has confirmed three recent cases and believes more have gone unreported.
Two of the confirmed thefts were in Strawberry Hill, including one on 5th Street. The third was in Piper, near 110th Street and Donahoo Road. Police told KCTV5 the thieves are hitting in the early morning, going after materials that were delivered ahead of time and left out in plain view on driveways and lawns.
Strawberry Hill resident Cheryl Sostarich said she lost supplies the very morning her repair was set to start. "And then all of a sudden, the morning that they're going to start the work, half your supplies are gone," she told the station. Her contractor pulled up while the thieves were still there, which saved about half of the load.
The timing isn't random. Wyandotte County is still working through damage from storms that hit late Aug. 18 and into the early hours of Aug. 19, bringing large hail, damaging winds and heavy rain, according to the Kansas Adjutant General's Department. Gov. Laura Kelly declared a state disaster emergency on Aug. 21 and asked FEMA for a major disaster declaration in September. Six weeks after the storm, residents told KCTV5 that tarps still covered roofs across some neighborhoods.
That leaves a lot of crews moving through the same blocks, and police said it can be hard for neighbors to tell a legitimate worker from someone stealing. Their advice: don't confront anyone loading materials, because supplies can be replaced and a confrontation could turn dangerous. Call 911 instead, and report thefts to KCKPD or through its online police report.
Randy Waits, a general contractor who works in Wyandotte County, told KCTV5 that building materials are the most expensive he's seen in years, with some items doubling over the last five years. He said contractors often budget $5,000 to $10,000 per home just to cover potential theft. "The thieves will lie to you," Waits said. "They'll say, 'Oh, I work here.'" Waits also described siding being taken from one of his sites in broad daylight while people nearby assumed the thieves were workers.
Why it matters for Contractors
If you're roofing in KCK right now, every pallet sitting on a driveway overnight is a risk you're carrying. The simplest fix is timing: schedule deliveries for the morning work starts, or as close to it as your supplier allows, so materials aren't sitting out overnight.
Beyond that, talk with the homeowner before the drop. Tell them when the delivery is coming and what it looks like, ask them to keep an eye out, and make sure they know not to confront anyone. A photo of the delivery when it lands gives you and them something to hand police and insurers if it walks off.
Check your own coverage too. Find out whether your policy or your supplier's terms cover materials stolen from a customer's property before you've installed them. And one more date for storm customers: the SBA's deadline to apply for physical damage disaster loans tied to the August storm is Monday, Nov. 2, according to KCTV5.