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Published: July 29, 2007 01:17 am    print this story  

OUR VIEW: Crack down on copper thefts

Niagara Gazette

There’s copper in those vacant buildings and that’s the problem facing local law enforcement officers.

The value of scrap copper has been rising recently, making the plethora of abandoned buildings in Niagara Falls suddenly more attractive: Attractive to thieves, that is.

City police say there have been more than 50 incidents of copper theft reported since November. That’s when detectives began to notice the trend and started to keep a running count. Detective Captain Ernest Palmer said for a while there had been more copper thefts in Niagara Falls than car break-ins. And he figures there have been even more than have come to the attention of the police.

“Only a small percentage (of thefts) are being reported,” he said.

According to Palmer, many of the old buildings are either in foreclosure or have no insurance so there’s no incentive to report the crime.

Preventing the crime or apprehending the criminals is difficult. Most copper is not traceable so, when police go to investigate, it is difficult to determine the source. And short of staking out every vacant building in the city, catching the thieves in the act is not an efficient way for police officers to spend their time.

So what can be done? Police urge property owners to spray paint their copper piping, at least the copper that might be easily accessible to thieves. That way, detectives can figure out the path that the stolen metal takes once it’s removed from its source.

Police investigations need to concentrate on where the copper is sold; scrapyards whose owners don’t ask a lot of questions as to where the metal originates. Police point out that a couple of local metal dealers are taking up the cause and assisting detectives in their investigations. Those dealers are to be commended.

But at least one other scrapyard is the target of police for being the fence where the burglars can take their ill-gotten metal and turn it into cash. Tightening the noose around the unscrupulous metal dealers will go a long way toward making copper thievery a thing of the past.

After all, it’s the lure of turning copper into gold that put the thieves into the copper burglary business in the first place. Taking that financial incentive away and replacing it with the real possibility of prison time will remove the attractiveness of copper-stripping for those who like to live outside the law.

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