OT - Cable and Lead thefts

Whenever I read of a copper cable or pipe theft the report inevitably headlines the replacement cost - or the cost of the damage and not the likely much smaller scrap value that the theft may have earned the thieves.

I think this appears to make thefts more attractive to the criminal fraternity. Having seen the price of a length of copper pipe in B&Q, it hardly seems worth getting caught stealing it and taking it to a scrap dealer - and possibly sharing the proceeds.

Reply to
John
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I`m not sure what you are trying to convey here,but this is my story. I have a small factory unit which is too small for production so I was using it as a store.Over two years ago when copper was =A33.50/kg for scrap it got broken into and stripped of every bit of copper in the place.From the main switch out,everything was gone,even the 1.5mm twin and earths feeding the lights in the offices.Cisterns,washbasins and sinks were torn from the walls to get the short lengths of copper going to the taps etc.Machines were smashed to get bits of brass,aluminium,anything non ferrous. I reckoned they would have got =A31500-2000 for it all.Cost to me over =A340,000. Do you really think these people don`t know the value of scrap?They couldn`t give a monkeys about the new cost or the installation cost because they`re not buying it.But,they know exactly what a bit of scrap is worth as that`s how they live,on their wits. To rub salt into the wound the council wouldn`t even consider a reduction in the rates. Mark.

Reply to
mark

On the bright side, at least it may encourage some of the dimmer ones to remove themselves from the gene pool! ;-)

Reply to
John Rumm

I`m not sure what you are trying to convey here,but this is my story. I have a small factory unit which is too small for production so I was using it as a store.Over two years ago when copper was £3.50/kg for scrap it got broken into and stripped of every bit of copper in the place.From the main switch out,everything was gone,even the 1.5mm twin and earths feeding the lights in the offices.Cisterns,washbasins and sinks were torn from the walls to get the short lengths of copper going to the taps etc.Machines were smashed to get bits of brass,aluminium,anything non ferrous. I reckoned they would have got £1500-2000 for it all.Cost to me over £40,000. Do you really think these people don`t know the value of scrap?They couldn`t give a monkeys about the new cost or the installation cost because they`re not buying it.But,they know exactly what a bit of scrap is worth as that`s how they live,on their wits. To rub salt into the wound the council wouldn`t even consider a reduction in the rates. Mark.

I was just making the point that the headlines would probably make it appear that they made of with £40,000.

Your situation was clearly more than the frequent robbing of a bit of 15mm copper that then causes a building to flood and cause thousands of pounds of damage - for the sake of a fiver's worth of scrap.

Reply to
John

the lads certainly don't do cost benefit analysis.

I had a lawnmower stolen. A very old ride on. To get to it, they drove across a field, in two separate cars, twice. They had to carry it at least 15 yards over a low hedge and load it on the back of some kind of

4WD pickup. It must have been a team of at least 4 people. Petrol costs for the recce and the theft must have been £50 or more. They left the grass box and a lot of the rest of it behind.

At best, 'hot' it was worth £150.

so, given that it must have been at least a couple of hours work for 4 people, that's 8 man hours to make a net tax free gain of £100.

£12,50 an hour. You can get more than that labouring on a building site.

Yup.

This low level thievery is mindless and really is more a reflection of the 'hunter gatherer' mentality of the people involved, than any real desire to make money. If it ain't nailed down, it just walks. Half of it gets left behind as unsaleable trash when they 'move on'.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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Reply to
ARWadsworth

Interesting comparison. :-)

Reply to
Appelation Controlee

Talking of gas, remember BES do auto cutoff valves if a full-bore escape occurs (eg, pipe or appliance vandalism).

Thus far you would think they are not interested in stealing alkathene, but you would be wrong - some stole bright yellow 8-10in gas mains sat overnight in a trench. Quite what they are going to do with it I have no idea. Lightning arrestor busbar does not last 5 minutes and copper is merrily plodding upwards in price again.

At one industrial unit everything is plugged in via BS4343 and trailing leads in open duct around the perimeter. Precisely because they "got done over" for copper cable once before. If it happens again the damage and downtime is limited. Probably breaks a few H&S regulations, but the damage can be tremendous. Plastic pipes do not help - they go after the taps for brass, even taking the grid covers in street, in carpark & in the building.

Reply to
js.b1

The reasons why newspaper headlines only ever report the replacement value rather than the scrap value are -

a) This is the reported value the insurers actually pay out on

b) Reporters normally get their information from the insurers or the people who've been robbed, rather then the thieves themselves or their fences.

c) Criminals won't necessarily believe anything they read in newspapers in any case. If only because they, and they alone, will be aware of the extent to which even the most respectable of citizens will sometimes tend to overstate the extent of their losses when making insurance claims. Or possibly even understate their losses if under investigation by the tax man. Especially where safe deposit boxes are concerned.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

This is all getting a bit reminiscent of the great leap forward.

Reply to
Clive George

Which great leap forward was that, then?

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

In article , js.b1 scribeth thus

Indeed and thats why a lot of broadcast and comms sites are now converted to Ally as its not worth nicking...

Part from all that semi sticky paint they coat it with

Reply to
tony sayer

There's only one sufficiently famous and relevant to the conversation about melting down everything for scrap.

Reply to
Clive George

well its not sufficiently famous for me to recall it.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Probably this one;

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the paragraph about small-scale steel production, below the graph.

I had about half-a-dozen capilliary thermostats in a store at a former job. Someone (an employee) cut off & stole the copper capilliaries which, as the name suggests,were very thin tubes (2mm?) about 1m long. =A340 thermostats wrecked for 5p or 10p worth of copper,

Reply to
Onetap

My father worked for the CEGB in eth 1950s and they had a power station commissioned that did not work. They tracked the problem to where three huge copper cables went under the fllor to emerge the other side of the turbine hall. Smone had cut them off below floor level and stolen the copper.

R
Reply to
RobertL

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