Metal theft

[1] It usually increases when worldwide prices for scrap metal rise, as has happened dramatically due to rapid industrialization in India and China.

Thefts often have negative consequences much greater than the value of the metal stolen, such as the destruction of valuable statues, power interruptions, and the disruption of railway traffic, or the thieves in question becoming a path to ground, resulting in electrocution.

Anything made of metal has value as scrap metal, and can be stolen: A 2007 United States Department of Energy study reported that law enforcement believed many copper thefts from electric utilities in warmer urban locations like San Diego, California, and Tampa, Florida, were committed without the use of vehicles by vagrants.

[citation needed] As of 2014[update] in the United States alone, metal theft costs the economy $1 billion annually, according to Department of Energy estimates.

For example, thieves who strip copper plumbing and electrical wiring from houses render the residences uninhabitable without expensive, time-consuming repairs.

Scrap merchants may refuse to accept certain commonly-stolen items, such as manhole covers, street signs, air-conditioning units, and railroad track components, unless the seller can prove legitimate ownership.

[5] In Australia in 2008, 8 tonnes of copper wiring, believed to be stolen from a variety of locations including rail tracks, power stations and scrap metal depots, was seized on its way to the Asian black market.

[16] In November 2011 a unknown perpetrator attempted copper theft by hand sawing a live electric line in a Vienna subway tunnel.

[18] In July 2013 in Lower Austria 160 metres (520 ft) (250 kg, 550 lb) of copper wire worth less than €1,000 was stolen from a railway transformer station.

[20] In May 2016, police caught several people that had stolen several tons of copper wire from a substation and caused 400,000 € worth of damage in Lower Austria.

[29] The French railway network company RFF face regular thefts of metal that affect the operation of the trains.

[30] In February 2006, near the German city of Weimar, thieves dismantled and carted away some 5 km (3 mi) of disused rail track, causing at least 200,000 euros worth of damage.

[4] In 2016, the sewers in Medan Merdeka avenue near National Monument, Central Jakarta, was discovered had been clogged with 10 truck loads of rubber-PVC cable jacket, causing flood in the area.

[38] On 11 January 2011, the theft of 300 meters (980 ft) of copper cable caused an ICE train to derail near the Dutch city of Zevenaar.

[45] In February 2004, thieves in western Ukraine dismantled and stole an 11 m (36 ft) long, one-tonne steel bridge that spanned the river Svalyavka.

There have been many stories of metal theft; a bronze statue of former Olympic champion Steve Ovett disappeared from Preston Park in Brighton[51] and church bells in Devon were stolen by thieves.

[52] A statue made by Henry Moore and estimated to be worth £300,000 was stolen from a museum in 2006, and believed to have been melted down for its scrap value of around £5,000.

[54] In late 2011 the police began a number of crackdowns on metal theft, the largest in South Yorkshire resulting in at least 22 arrests and the seizure of amateur smelting equipment.

Railway signal control cables are a common target, leading to serious safety issues and significant disruption for rail traffic.

Theft of cables used for railway electrification is extremely dangerous to the perpetrator as well as bystanders as these systems are routinely energised to tens of thousands of volts.

In Boston during the summer of 2008, two state employees stole 2,347 feet (715 m) of decorative iron trim that had been removed from the Longfellow Bridge for refurbishment and sold it for scrap.

The men, one of whom was a Department of Conservation and Recreation district manager, were charged with receiving $12,147 for the historic original parapet coping.

[66] Thelander sustained second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body during an August 28, 2007, explosion, after copper thieves stripped propane and water lines from a rural residence and let the home fill with gas.

Thelander, who, along with his wife, was preparing the empty home for a new tenant, reported the burglary to the Monona County Sheriff's Office, who investigated the initial crime.

With no law enforcement nor fire department personnel present, he entered the home, and, smelling no fumes, felt it safe to work.

As the nation's trade association for the scrap recycling industry, ISRI provides members and community leaders with resources that they can use when facing the issue.

[7] ISRI and the National Crime Prevention Council offer a number of tips for how to fight and prevent metal theft, including requiring photo ID and license plate information for every transaction, training employees on identifying stolen goods, and keeping good records that might be useful later.

By 2017, in the Colombian frontier city of Cúcuta, a kilo of copper could be sold for a little over $1, an important income at a time where the minimum wage in Venezuela was $5.

[2] Metal and cable theft in the country has left several neighborhoods and universities nationwide without electricity, internet or telephone service, and has led to the deterioration of utilities and infrastructure throughout Venezuela.