As the price for metals continues to rise, the theft of metals rises even faster. The theft of metals is now costing the United States more than $1 billion a year. One of the most common metals stolen is copper.
On August 25, burglars stole a copper ring from a transformer used by the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center at Mount Zion. The missing copper ring caused a power outage for the hospital, and they had to rely on a backup generator.
In Orangevale, California on the same day, students sat in a sweltering school building that reached temperatures over 100 degrees. The school’s air conditioning would not work because thieves had stolen 1,100 feet of copper wire necessary for its function. Three other schools in the same district had also been robbed of copper wiring. The thieves probably sold the copper to poachers for about $10,000.
On August 26, two people bought different homes in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The homes had previously been vacant. When the man went to remodel his newly purchased home, he found that copper pipe had been stolen from the basement. The estimated repair amounts to $2,000. The woman, who bought her house at an auction, discovered that copper pipes had been stolen from her basement as well.
Copper thieves mainly target vacant areas such as empty buildings, foreclosed properties, construction sites and unoccupied homes. They mainly steal copper from air conditioners, plumbing, wiring, cables and sprinkler systems. Since the burglars rip wires out of walls or break plumbing apart, they tend to cause costly damage. If you have a vacant home, whether it is a vacation home or a house for sale, ask a neighbor to keep an eye on it. Installing a security system can also help deter copper thieves.
Sources:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Copper-theft-causes-blackout-at-UCSF-Medical-Center-101577753.html
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=92407&catid=2
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4442475
Related posts:
- Identity Theft: A Problem for College Students
Identity theft is becoming more and more common because of the increased use of social networking sites, file sharing networks and even mobile devices. A...
