With scrap market values at record highs of several thousand dollars a tonne, copper wire theft has reached epidemic proportions, especially in Europe, North America and Australia. Much of the stolen wire is smuggled by organised criminals to China, where the construction boom is creating a huge increase in demand. Typical targets of copper thieves include the electricity grid network, the rail network, street lighting and the communications network.The thieves are fast and audacious. For example, there have been several instances where high voltage copper wire overhead power lines on railways have been removed overnight.
The potential consequential losses involved in copper wire theft are almost too high to assess. At local level electricity grids can be taken off line, and entire communications networks can be brought to a standstill for prolonged periods of time.
Security managers are urged to:
1. Identify locations on site where copper wire is stored or used, and to increase protection. In addition to physical security protection, covert asset marking greases such as that which leaves a “DNA fingerprint” can be used.
2. Clear foliage from vulnerable areas to increase natural surveillance, especially at night.
3. If you are in a remote location and served by copper wires, extend your vehicle patrolling to outside your perimeter at night to create deterrence.
4. Actively engage the local police and share intelligence. Make them aware of your vulnerabilities and expectations, and ask them to make you aware of the local copper wire crime situation.
5. Carry out an extensive vulnerability assessment to determine the organisation’s/facility’s critical dependences on services provided by copper wire, including those provided both internally and externally. In the case of external services, utility providers should be lobbied to increase security spending.
6. Investigate the use of alternative technologies, such as fibre optics for communication and copper weld, the market value of which is less than for copper wire.
To get an idea of what could be targeted in your organisation, google the words copper wire theft and read the 100,000 results!
