Copper Theft: Solutions And Waning Economy Underscore Slow But Steady Decline
Compelled by a dramatic rise in the per pound exchange value over the course of the past five years - up more than 70% from its 2003 rate of 80 cents per pound at its peak at more than $4 per pound in late 2007 - copper pillage has come to occupy center-stage in American dialogues about pervasive new crime trends.
Between 2003 and the 2008 market crash, the going exchange rate for copper in metal recycling outposts had more than tripled in value, having been valued at approximately 80 cents per pound in 2003 and between $3 and $4 in early 2008. Sparked by a massive building boom in China where, being necessary for the construction of everything from buildings to cars to turbines, there was a higher demand for the metal than there was a readily available supply, the spike in value rendered copper a hot "commodity" for thieves who often swindled massive supplies of wire and piping from public utilities ranging between telephone lines, highway lights, electrical substations, railroads, and water wells in addition to residential homes, construction sites, and farms to exchange for cash. The Department of Energy has estimated this upsurge in copper theft to cost the nation upwards of $1 billion annually, making it an issue of grave enough public concern to inspire the creation of a Washington D.C. based advocacy group, the Coalition Against Copper Theft, that actively works to highlight the issue in the Congress and Senate and is allied with many of America's preeminent trade associations.
The consequences of this crime trend, however, far exceed the American taxpayer's checkbook or the inconvenience of power and telephone service outages. When the vital infrastructure that keeps America connected and running smoothly gets tampered with, that infrastructure becomes hazardous, whether by virtue of malfunction or non-function. As but a few in the ongoing stream of examples of the dangers posed by this unfortunate wave of delinquency, fire investigators nation-wide have traced major instances of fire generated property damage to copper theft, and, per an FBI report, in 2008, five tornado warning devices failed to alert Jackson, Mississippi area residents of an impending tornado because looting of the sirens' copper wiring had rendered them idle.
The effort to curb public endangerment instigated by copper theft has motivated the creation of federal and state-level legislation seeking to better regulate t he business of copper recycling by imposing restrictions on scrap metal processors and buyers to increase the detection and successful prosecution of copper thieves. In some states, this includes banning buyers from acquiring metal from seller's without legitimate business licenses, demanding that processors maintain records documenting the details about every purchase of scrap metal occurring within their business, and requiring dealers to keep photocopies of metal providers' drivers licenses. In most states, valid photo identification is now required to exchange metal, even in small quantities, for cash, and when the amount of copper sold exceeds a certain value, as in the case of a new bill seeking passage in Nevada, a processor would have to compensate the seller by check or electronic transfer.
The efficacy of such government-instituted regulations on scrap metal trade paired with the current decreased value of copper has substantially lowered the frequency of copper theft nation-wide. Nevertheless, because of its ready availability at construction sites and in public utility infrastructure, copper theft remains a serious problem for American contractors, home-builders, and utility providers, inspiring many to become proactive by purchasing and strategically placing security cameras in locations where large quantities of copper wiring or piping may be found, bestowing an entirely new level of meaning onto the age-old adage proclaiming that "A penny saved is a penny earned".
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