Copper Theft, a Whack-a-Mole Crime
By Frank Ross
What power and utilities companies have done to prevent copper crime…
The obvious danger, boldly ignored by thieves, is the potential for being electrocuted while cutting into live wires, some carrying tens of thousands of volts of electricity. In their rush to leave the scene of the crime, thoughtless thieves often leave live wires dangling, exposing unsuspecting maintenance workers to the danger they flaunt. But the real hidden danger is the potential threat to cell towers and utility property left unprotected by theft of grounding wire and busbars.
When thieves cut and remove grounding busbars and related grounding components, usually there is no loss of service. The only way a company knows their tower has been disabled is when the tower takes a direct, unprotected hit of lightning and is totally shut down. When that happens, a huge investment goes up in smoke and cell users lose service access until the tower is repaired. Although lightning destroys a tower’s electronics, if the tower isn’t damaged structurally, the tower owner isn’t out the entire investment. That was not the case in the dark hours of June 27, 2009.
On this particular summer night near Tracy City, TN, copper thieves were busy cutting copper grounding wires from guy anchors attached to a 360-foot cell tower. Apparently, the thieves cut away the copper grounding wires on one guy wire and started on the second when they accidently cut through the guy wire, bringing down the entire tower. The real tragedy in both of these situations is that a $250,000 loss can happen because thieves stole copper that might have brought them $25 in recycling cash.
To combat copper crime, cell tower companies and their supporting organizations as well as utility companies and their industry organizations have pressured state legislatures to pass new laws with the teeth necessary to enable law enforcement officers to arrest suspects and bring cropper criminals to trial. In some states, the resulting laws have produced encouraging results.
According to Barry Moline, Executive Director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association, when the price of copper peaked, member corporations within his organization discovered that in addition to the criminal element in the general public finding out where copper was stored and easily available, they had a two pronged problem. When copper thefts began to increase, utilities took measures to improve the security of their facilities. They put in cameras, improved lightning, locks and added barbed wire to perimeter fencing.
One of the revelations their hidden cameras produces was that, in a few instances, employees were taking small pieces of wire on a regular basis. Over a long period of time they were amassing significant amounts of copper to supplement their income. They fired and prosecuted offending employees, and then turned their efforts on the criminals that were at large in the communities they served.
“We went to the legislature and sought tougher laws on copper crime and those fencing the stolen property. By cutting off part of the supply chain, we’ve been able to impact the crime. People who take scrap metals to a recycler now have to have a physical address for a check to be mailed to them, they can’t just take the scrap in and walk out with cash anymore,” he explained.
“This type of crime is like the “Whack-a-Mole” game, where the mole pops up and you hit it, and then another pops up from another hole. We think we’ve done a pretty good job of addressing the current trends and techniques of the criminals, but they’re pretty resourceful. When they come up with a new angle, we’ll have to change our tactics as well,” he said with resolve.
Florida Passes New Copper Crime Legislation
According to Major Larry Williams of the Polk County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, until Florida’s legislation was passed, the most challenging part of catching and prosecuting suspects was identifying the property and being able to prove where it came from. “This legislation brings recyclers into the same type of record keeping that is required of pawn shops. More in-depth records of transactions are required and those records must be maintained for three years. Anyone selling scrap metal must have a photo ID, provide a right thumb print for identification, and be photographed along with the copper they are trying to sell,” he said.
“The recyclers in our county work closely with us and are good about reporting suspicious scrappers. When TECO (Tampa Electric Company) started painting their grounding wires, they got a special paint that wasn’t available to the public. It made their grounding wire easy to identify. We took samples to the recyclers in our area and told them if any of that type of painted wire comes in to call us immediately. It’s just one more thing to help us identify stolen property and make a case that can be prosecuted,” he said.
Another key improvement in Florida’s copper crime law is the severity has increased from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, which carries a 5-year sentence.
But, unless law enforcement officers can connect the crime with the criminal and the criminal with the copper evidence there is no case. The more you can do to identify your property, the better chance you have of seeing justice prevail in the long run. Check the laws in your area. Find out what is being done to make copper criminals easier to prosecute, and get involved with the process. Learn what you need to do to work with local law enforcement to help them protect your property before you have a loss.
First and foremost, where possible, identify your property. As discussed in the first installment of this series, Security Ground Bars kits are an excellent option as is identifying your busbars with a simple stamping process offered by Storm Copper. It’s affordable and effective.
Another step is to plate your electrical components with nickel, tin or a tin alloy. Plating masks copper electrical components, and also contaminates the metal’s purity when melted down for recycling, making the copper worthless to thieves and recyclers.
In our next installment of Copper Crime Prevention, we’ll take a look at the latest innovation; a DNA-like application that enables law enforcement officers to identify where the copper was stolen from.
