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231 comments on DrumBeat: September 27, 2006

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Leanan on September 27, 2006 - 9:39am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Another story about theft and the high price of copper:

Copper thieves get killed cutting into power lines

At least seven men in five states have been fatally electrocuted since July while hacking through power lines to steal wire made of copper, which has been commanding near-record prices, police say.

"It is a growing problem with the rise in the price of metals," says Lt. Shea Smith of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina. Smith says one thief died Aug. 30 and another July 7. Both were found with wire cutters and other tools that suggested their intent. He says at least 30 more copper thefts have occurred in the county so far this year.

Nationwide, police report copper thieves stealing wires from air conditioning units, exposed pipes from underneath homes, vases from graveyards in Sumter, S.C., and bells from a church in Yonkers, N.Y.

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davidsmi on September 27, 2006 - 11:47am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
This is actually a fairly common problem in much of the (misnamed) third world. I've even read stories about southern african companies unable to lay line faster than it was being pulled down by "bandits."
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Apuleius on September 27, 2006 - 3:38pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
That's why cell service is more reliable there than landlines. GSM antennas powered by localized generators. No copper to steal.
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davidsmi on September 27, 2006 - 3:47pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Ah, but those batteries! When Charlie went through down here a couple of years ago and knocked the power out (8 days at my house) we were without cell phones - seems the phone companies had not been checking their backup batteries on there towers and good majority of them were simply dead! So with the copper not available - what's a generator and battery worth?
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bruce from chicago on September 27, 2006 - 8:07pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Not in my neck of the woods it's not. I can barely even get a signal. I've been looking at some of the antenna units that are offered for picking up a signal from a local cell tower and broadcast the amplified signal to an area around the house. Anybody here ever see these in action?

Bruce in Cumberland County Illinois

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bruce from chicago on September 27, 2006 - 8:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Oops! My bad. Looked up what a GSM antenna was. Are the worth the investment?
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Apuleius on September 28, 2006 - 12:27am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
More reliable THERE, as in Africa.
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roel on September 27, 2006 - 12:21pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Copper thieves cause havoc

Thieves targeting the copper in power lines in the Truckee River Canyon have stolen wire, damaged 50 power poles, caused power-outages for about 700 customers and sparked a brush fire over the weekend.

Karl Walquist, spokesman for Sierra Pacific Power, said thieves are knocking down poles to get to the valuable copper in the currently unused wire. The thefts, he said, have likely been going on for months.

Detroit weighs curbing scrap metal theft

Thieves have even stripped cemeteries for sprinkler heads, manhole covers from city streets and copper tubing from outdoor condensers on home air conditioners.

Copper the new addiction

Over the past several months thieves targeted local cemeteries, mausoleums,and even youth football fields.

Red-hot copper

When Leon Black had the utilities switched on at a Lansing rental property he owns, he got a big surprise.

"The guy came to turn on the power, and he said, 'You've got water running everywhere,' " Black said

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Francois on September 27, 2006 - 8:20pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
This is a major issue for railroads - theft of copper ground rods and batteries may go unnoticed until it is needed- making the whole system unreliable.
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DelusionaL on September 27, 2006 - 11:04pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Meth
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Apuleius on September 28, 2006 - 1:07am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
One of the silver linings in Peak Oil is that the end of the automobile age makes entire categories of crime infeasible. No more kidnappings of adults, for example. Career street robberies in the city? Once again sure to become a rarity. And drug smuggling will also be a great deal more difficult.

The question is just how much havoc criminals will wreak before they lose their wheels.

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231 comments on DrumBeat: September 27, 2006

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