(The following story by Cody Kraatz appeared on the San Jose Mercury News website on August 14.)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Skyrocketing prices for copper have buoyed a surge in an unusual crime, say contractors, metals recyclers and law enforcement officials.
Thieves have targeted construction sites, work trucks and storage yards and made off with copper wire and pipes, crimes that set back electricians, plumbers and communications companies thousands of dollars and throw off their project schedules.
“It hasn’t been a problem in the past generally because copper prices were fairly reasonable at that time. But since the metals market and copper market continued up to what it is, it’s become an easy way for someone to make some quick money,” said Richard Johnson, owner of Quick Plumbing Inc., which recently moved from Sunnyvale to Santa Clara.
Copper prices have hit record highs, possibly due to higher demand in Asia.
No. 1 copper pipe, shiny and clean, fetches $2.61 per pound and salvaged no. 2 pipe, older and discolored, fetches $2.41 per pound. Compare that to April 2005, when Sims Metal, a recycler with operations in San Jose, Richmond and Hayward, paid only $1.12 per pound for no. 1 pipe, said Sims buyer Marvis McBride.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety reported 29 copper thefts in 2005 – with a peak of eight that May – and there were 47 in 2006. As of July 30, there have been 10 this year, compared with 18 by this time last year.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department does not compile such statistics because of budget cuts but reported multiple recent copper thefts in Cupertino.
Johnson said he cannot recover his losses through insurance or charging customers or contractors. “It’s a tough situation we’re in.”
Thieves will crawl under a single- family home or apartment complex in the night and cut all the pipes out. Large coils of copper wire have also been stolen from PG&E project sites, said Sgt. Ed Wise, sheriff spokesman.
Railroad operators have had wiring stolen from switch boxes. Catalytic converters stolen in Cupertino may be another target of copper thieves. Copper theft is a nationwide and worldwide problem, with people in poor countries taking great risks to steal heavy wire from power lines.
Locally, contractors are in tune with what’s happening, Johnson said. They are fencing off job sites and hiring security guards, some of whom disrupted an attempted theft in Cupertino several months ago, according to sheriff reports.
But solutions have to address metal recyclers that pay for such scrap copper.
McBride said his company met with law enforcement and communications companies to help it identify stolen copper. Sims rejects anyone with a large quantity but no association with a legitimate construction company. McBride turns away two or three people per day, such as those with long pieces of brand-new pipe, a big warning sign.
“We wouldn’t buy it because nobody’s going to sell long lengths of pipe,” he said, explaining that plumbers save every bit of pipe for later jobs because it’s so expensive.
New copper pipe sells for about $3.45 per foot, McBride said, and is desirable because it does not corrode.
Sims pays $2.84 per pound for heavy-duty MCM electrical wire, but only with a letter from contractors on letterhead.
“We don’t buy that from a regular person because that’s power construction wire, and the person shouldn’t have that.”
Thinner Romex wire carries smaller loads of electricity and is less likely to be stolen because homeowners sometimes sell it on their own. Sims pays $1.16 to $2.41 per pound for it.
Sims posts signs saying the business cooperates with law enforcement and the victims of copper theft, and would rather turn someone away than take a chance.
“It’s just not worth the hassle,” said McBride.