O/T - copper wire

[bob18]

Here's a good one for ya all. In kansas where the power is out and crews came from out of state to help thieves stole the copper wire off their trucks. maybe we'll catch these bozo's when they start chopping down power poles and shock themselves!

 

[Dave Sherburne NY]

Around here we had thieves would cut the ground
wire on the poles and take it. Boss man said they
would have had to yank it off the poles with a
vehicle.

 

[BobReeves]

We have crews from several states here in Tulsa that are helping get the power back and I can't thank them enough.

If I saw someone stealing from these guys I would likely end up in jail charged with murder.

 

[Jim/IN]

I work for a company that makes welded wire mesh. I'm a machinist in their machine shop. We make a lot of parts out of copper for the welding process. About 6 months ago we had to go to a security system on the doors to the machine shop. Employees were coming in and stealing chunks of raw copper sometimes weighing over 50 pounds. One night I had a chunk of class III copper 2"X5"X20" taken right off my work bench. That probably bought some dope head a whole lot of meth.

 

[El Toro]

There's a bunch of thieves in PA stealing copper water pipe from homes. Hal

 

[omahagreg]

That is so low, I am speechless!
About 45 miles north of Omaha, in Iowa, someone broke into a home and stole the copper propane gas lines. The house blew up, and killed the farmer. This is getting ridiculous! Greg

 

[noncompos]

More and more communities are finally (finally!!) requiring scrap and junkyard dealers--all kinds of metal buyers that deal with individuals--to ID/picture sellers. One wonders why this wasn't done two or three years ago, when the papers were full of stories of thieves stealing copper pipe and telephone wire (or why the dealers didn't do it themselves)...It won't, of course, stop it all, but it should cut it down a lot.

 

[Davis In SC]

Night before last, crooks gutted the outdoor A/C units at the building beside our shop. Stole everything from 2, and had started on the 3rd. That building is a county-owned sheltered workshop for handicapped workers.. If/when they catch the culprits, I hope they make an example of them .

 

[Anonymous-0]

Yep, not surprised at all. Thefts are starting to get bad around here. Someone went into the local pre fab housing sales lot, broke into brand new homes and ripped all the copper pipes out of the walls. I'd imagine they must have pretty well demolished those homes getting the pipes out.
I'll be glad when junk prices fall back down to where its hardly worth the fuel to draw it again, then people won't be doing this.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Around here their stealing the wires off our center pivot irragation systems which amounts to a 1000 dollars worth of copper.

 

[Ohio Mike]

Bad here in Ohio,crooks climbing poles taking wires, pipes from houses, barns, buildings, plumbing trucks, ect. Also hitting electric sub stations. One sub station was hit by husband and wife team, husband cooked, wife in jail. Another area sub station was hit by father and son team, father cooked, son in jail. Too bad wife didn't try to grab husband and son didn't try to grab father. I seen one house crooks took all wiring, copper pipes, furnance, sinks, and all the aluminum windows and doors. Really getting bad in some areas here and a friend of mine said it's worse in Mi. I would think that a red flag would pop up at these scrap yards and they would call the police. But then again maybe there is crooks at both ends.

 

[Bill in IL]

We have the same problem here in IL stealing from houses and anywhere its not tied down. Last I took some copper in they are taking down your information from your ID.

Wish the sheriff would go back to a shoot first type of law to curb the trespassing. Thieves have nothing to be afraid of anymore cause the have more rights than us who are trying to protect our stuff.

 

[Stockdale Dave]

I had bids today delivered for installing a meter loop from the service pole to my house. Copper wire was $21 a foot and aluminum was $14. These prices are unreal.

 

[Mattias]

A few days ago they found a fried guy that is believed had tried to steel copper at power transforming station. One can only hope it's the same idiot that stole copper from a 17th century building ruining the facade.

 

[JML755]

Yeah, communities are now requiring ID's and they're writing it down. What good will that do? Say a guy brings in a load of copper pipe (fresh out of a house under construction). They take his ID. Then what? Are the cops going to all the scrap yards in the State when they get a police report from the vicitm? Don't think so. It's happening so often, they would spend all their time driving to the junk yards. Plus, what junk yard is going to turn someone in? And if they do catch up with a guy, how do they prove that the copper pipe came from the house that was victimized? Until they start catching guys and publicizing it, then locking them up for many years, the problem will continue.