If you notice a run on orange
fluorescent paint in Griffin, it is not about Halloween; it is about curbing
copper theft in our area. Captain Jeff Mason led a seminar at City Hall
Friday morning in which citizens, business owners, legislators, and law
enforcement officials shared information about copper theft as a local,
national, and international problem. Drug addicts, in particular, are noted
for doing thousands of dollars of damage to air conditioner compressors and
wiring under houses in order to scrape up a few dollars to support their
habit. What can business owners and homeowners do?
1. Mark pipes with orange
fluorescent paint or cover them with tar. Metal scrappers and recyclers on
site indicated a willingness and desire to notify police if anyone comes to
them trying to sell marked copper. Other ways of marking that were less
popular were metal punching and laser etching.
2. Purchase an exterior
A/C cage for about $200 to surround your air conditioner compressor.
3. Invest in an exterior
audible alarm attached to a motion sensor.
4. Use a surveillance
camera.
5. If you are a business
owner, screen employees/establish a daily routine for walking through and
around your business/visit your business at night.
6. Join a coalition to
fight the problem.
In 2007 the city of Griffin had 162
cases of copper theft reported with 27 cleared by arrest. In 2008 so far it
has had 171 cases reported with 23 cleared by arrest. Spalding County has
had 160 cases of copper theft in 2007 through September of 2008.
Copper theft is most likely to occur
in new construction zones, rental properties, churches, cellular towers, and
abandoned houses and warehouses. It is happening in both high crime and low
crime areas.
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