That’s because copper thefts are often not obvious until someone tries to turn on an air conditioner, run the water or flip an electrical switch.
In the case at the old Coosa Middle School, someone cut the power in April and took wiring, a freezer and a cooler. Police estimate more than $550,000 in theft and damages were done to the school.
Police believe the thieves could have been in the school more than one night.
Just two months later, police found copper missing from Florida Tile on New Calhoun Highway in Shannon. The thieves left behind their tools, indicating they were scared away or that they had planned to return. Copper wiring was missing from the abandoned building but a value was not listed.
A suspect has been identified in the theft at the old Coosa Middle School. Detective Jeff Jones of the Floyd County Police Department said he had not ruled out the possibility the two thefts were related.
Copper has long been a popular target of thieves looking for an easy score in both effort and money.
“I’m afraid as the price goes up we are going to see more thefts,” Jones said.
Why copper?
Copper is easy to find, police said. Copper wiring can be found in most residential homes. Air conditioning units also contain copper coils that can bring quick cash to a thief that takes it to a recycling center.
The lure of a quick, easy score entices thieves. Some brazenly steal air conditioning units in the middle of the day just to strip them of the copper coils.
“It’s easily accessible,” said Detective Randy Gore with the Rome Police Department. “If the copper is stripped from an air conditioner’s condenser, there’s no way of tracing it.”
Others risk their lives trying to steal copper wiring from utility companies.
“About two years ago we had a rash of people cutting live power lines,” said Cpl. Greg Beck with the Floyd County Police Department. “They cut it and it would electrocute them. We had two people in recent years get killed that were allegedly attempting to steal the copper.”
Stealing copper can be easier than breaking into a home and taking a television set or jewelry, police said.
The theft at Coosa Middle School was unusual because usually copper thieves take the wire from outside air conditioning units or from construction sites.
“Stealing copper is less confrontational than a burglary,” said Beck. “When you break that door or window you are upping the level of what you are doing. The worst that can happen in some copper thefts is that the thieves will be confronted and run.”
Small take, big damage
While many of the copper thefts yield small returns, the damage to property is at times up to a 1,000 times more. In a recent theft from a Martha Berry Boulevard business, the thieves took copper valued at $20 but did $2,500 in damage to the business’ air conditioning unit.
When the home building business was booming, thieves were hitting construction sites. Most homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover loss if the home is not lockable, said Teresa Lumsden, a local State Farm agent.
“The homeowner faced a loss before they even moved into the home,” she said.
That translates into higher prices for homeowner insurance premiums, Beck said.
New law, cooperation helps
The increase in copper thefts nationwide led Georgia legislators to enact new laws for recycling centers in 2009. Customers must show a valid state identification at recycling centers when bringing in scrap metals.
At Newell Recycling everyone that brings in copper must show a picture identification, said Becky Allen of Newell Recycling — even if they have been there many times before.
“We are working with all our local recyclers and some outside the county,” Jones said. “They will pass the word around to others as well.”
Jones said not everyone who “scraps” copper has stolen it — far from it police said.
“You can make an honest living by scrapping,” Jones said. “It’s a recession and many people are trying to make a living.”
Those who steal “are mainly doing it to support their drug habit,” Jones said.
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