1. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
Julie’s Fresh Air
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q Home
Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels March 13, 2007
q About
Editor’s note: Originally written for Arizona Agriculture, this article highlights the
Press
infrastructure struggle agriculture along with a few other industries is having
q
right now. Arizona’s situation is spotlighted but is not alone in the copper theft
epidemic.
q Contact
By Julie Murphree
Book
q
Huge worldwide demand for copper and simply an easy heist is triggering
thieves across the state of Arizona to steal copper from construction and well
sites, irrigation pumps, electrical lines and even new homes under construction.
With the utilities, construction and agriculture industries getting hit the hardest, Julie's book, "Fresh Air"
Arizonans are beginning to put up a coordinated fight. is now available.
Learn more here!
Copper Wire Search
During testimony to the Committee On Natural Resources and Public Safety
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2. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
January 31st, Maricopa County Farm Bureau President Steven Bales, Jr. said,
“Copper theft is not a new issue for agriculture, but I must tell you it has rapidly
escalated into an epidemic.”
As a full-time farmer on the west side from Liberty, Arizona, and director of a
Go
local bank and Farm Board member, Bales emphasized to the committee he was
speaking as a farmer.
Highlighting Arizona’s agriculture infrastructure, “Irrigation is our life blood,”
he said, “and our pumps and wells are being stripped of copper.”
With no way to capture replacement costs not counting lost opportunity costs,
dollar losses are hard to come by. In the agriculture industry alone, 2006 copper
theft estimates and replacement costs are running in to the millions of dollars. Categories
Said Bales during testimony; “It is not simply the theft of copper that creates
problems for farmers. Other and more extensive property damage is created as a
result of the theft. Fences are cut for the thieves to obtain access. Sturdy chain
link fences are cut or backed over. Motors must be rewound, panels are stripped,
bearings and transformers pulled down and stripped, oil drip lines cut and
removed. Debris is scattered.
q General
“Secondly, the stripping causes much ancillary damage. In mid-January a
neighbor had $12,000 damage caused to a single well, motor and pump, while
the thieves made off with a couple of hundred dollars worth of copper wire.”
q What’s Cookin’
Utilities identify with the same point that while the copper theft itself may only
be in the hundreds of dollars, infrastructure replacement costs run into the
thousands of dollars. For this industry, the average theft runs $1,000 to $2,000
q Success
but the average replacement cost runs $50,000.
George Diaz, Jr. with APS said during testimony at the same hearing as Bales,
“The copper thefts go beyond costs to destabilizing our [utilities] systems.” Diaz q Roots
comments later prompted one committee member to signal concern over the
security risks this could place on Arizona.
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3. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
Bales testimony also addressed the ongoing loss that no one estimates. “The q Lifestyle Tips
actual damage and costs of replacement are only the beginning of the costs. In
agriculture, down wells mean delays in irrigation and crop losses. I appreciate
that other sectors also experience costly repairs and delays. Depending upon the
industry sector some of these delays can be made up and some not. But in
agriculture, crop losses cannot be recovered. So while the actual theft is small,
q Supply Chain
the resulting costs to agriculture are enormous.”
To noticeably understand this point, go no further than DeWayne Justice, a
Waddell, Arizona citrus grower and cattle rancher and also Arizona Farm Bureau q God’s Globe
board member. During the recent winter freeze a few months ago, Justice
planned to protect his citrus tress from freezing by irrigating his trees; called
“frost” watering to elevate the temperature in the orchard. When he went to turn
on the water, thieves had stripped the copper wiring from his pump. Normal
evaporation from the water would have kept temperatures higher thereby
q Lists
preventing freeze. As a result, Justice lost two years worth of production from
his citrus since the freeze killed this year’s citrus and also killed new growth that
produces the citrus in the following year.
Justice’s pump replacements costs will run $15,000. His crop losses will run in
the tens of thousands of dollars. “All of this for maybe a couple $100 worth of
copper taken by the thief,” says Justice.
Archive
The stories of copper theft in just the agriculture industry go on and on.
As of one month ago, Roosevelt Irrigation District reported 25 wells down out of
50 west of the Agua Fria. Buckeye Irrigation District has had 131 wells
vandalized in the past 12 months – 79 since mid-year. They have 35 wells
currently down and have incurred costs of almost $250,000 in a year’s time.
With copper theft occurring around the clock by police estimates, these numbers
don’t take into account copper thefts occurring as this publication goes to press. q December 2007
To help combat the copper thefts, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made
catching copper thieves a priority, setting up a hotline (602.876.1000) in January
and creating a reward fund for information leading to arrests and convictions. q November 2007
(When Arizona Agriculture checked this number, it appears to be the main
switchboard number and the weekend operator kept asking to “please repeat your
request.”)
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4. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
q October 2007
“Since the tip hotline was implemented, our telecommunications operators have
received several calls that have provided investigative leads and information
about copper thefts,” says Arpaio. “However, we need more callers and tips.”
q September 2007
Arpaio belives that the thefts can be pushed back adding, “My sheriff’s deputies
are making arrests and bringing some of our cases to successful conclusions.”
q August 2007
The Phoenix police department actually has four metal-theft detectives on staff.
They report 12,000 transactions per month of copper and non-ferrous metals
being sold in Phoenix alone. Because of current law, there’s no way of telling
whether a metals transaction is legitimate or not.
q July 2007
But when looked at statewide, the problem appears insurmountable. Throughout
the state you hear about thieves sawing down power poles, rolling over fences,
and much more. “We can’t keep up,” says Bales. “It’s beginning to look like we
cannot meet irrigation schedules when the season begins in earnest.
q June 2007
Wells are spread out over wide geographical areas and become cost prohibitive
for police to monitor especially when their top priorities involve tracking down
violent criminals. Even surveillance cameras set up to capture thieves in the act
q May 2007
have been stolen.
Additionally, thefts are occurring in daylight hours.
q April 2007
According to county sheriffs offices, the typical thief is a drug addict. Those that
have been caught are soon released.
q March 2007
And because of this, Sheriff Arpaio and others suggest that attacking the problem
goes beyond law enforcement. “My belief is that effort on everyone’s part is
required in order to stem the problem. My deputies will do their part in
combating copper thefts, and to help them, I will support legislation that will
help resolve the problem of copper thefts,” says Arpaio. q February 2007
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5. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
Jim Bechtel, Pinal County farmer and chair of the newly formed Copper Theft
Committee says, “I don’t know any farmer or irrigation district that has wells and
pumps that have not been hit.” q January 2007
Bechtel’s estimate of infrastructure loss in Pinal County is $10 million. “Pinal
County’s agriculture infrastructure has been devastated,” he adds.
q December 2006
No Easy Answer, No Easy Solution q November 2006
“We’ll continue to do what we can at the point of the theft,” says Bales, “but I
am afraid it’s a losing proposition. Increasing law enforcement resources would
certainly help, but again due to the wide geographic spread I have my doubts.”
q October 2006
Bales, Bechtel and other agriculturalists support increased legislation requiring
validation of seller identification at scrap metal and recycling facilities where
most of the stolen copper is sold. Additionally, they’d like to see legislation that
required information as to manifest and seller’s right to have possession of the
materials being sold, and payments to sellers by check, which would heave to be
mailed to actual addresses.
Bales, along with others, even suggests that a time period between delivery and
payment of the copper be established to allow appropriate checking and tracking
by law enforcement. “This is more effective than trying to chase the thieves after
the fact.”
Bechtel’s Copper Theft Committee formed for this very reason to develop
strategies that go beyond enforcement to a legitimate tracking system to stop the
thieves at the point of sale. “By creating tougher laws regarding the transport and
sale of copper we take away the economic incentive to steal this commodity,”
says Bechtel.
Many suggest legislation be designed that mimics an already-existing tracking
system used by the livestock commission, where an inspection certificate has to
be mandated for the sale and trade of any copper or precious metal commodity,
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6. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
beginning at its site of origin. Such a certificate then follows the item throughout
every point of sale, no matter where in the state the sale takes place.
If a tracking-based system was sent through the Arizona legislature, it would
prohibit the purchase of copper without a certificate attached, which in turn,
helps local law enforcement and courts track and build cases for prosecution
more effectively. Blogroll
Concludes Bales, “Farmers manage many risks and yet we remain optimists,
always believing next year to be better. Right now, I know this next year will not
be better. The situation is an epidemic, and we need legislative intervention.” National Corn
q
Growers
This article first appeared in the March 2007 issue of Arizona Agriculture Association
Solutions Under Review to Stop Copper Theft in Arizona
q Require adequate time between delivery of the copper (and other
metals) and payment for law enforcement to examine, at least on a
spot check basis, the transaction. Once the copper or metal is gone q Best Food Nation
the chain of evidence is lost.
q Require all payments to be made by check to a physical address for
tracking purposes.
q Smartchristian.com
q Create better and more targeted and narrowed photo identification
of the seller and the delivery vehicle.
q Require a proper manifest to accompany the copper, when delivered JulieMurphree.com
q
so there is a possible trace, with the copper tagged at the yard until
sold. Currently, law enforcement is on shaky ground if they stop a
pick-up truck with a load of shiny new-stripped wire.
q Turn the manifest into a license with a fee attached so additional law D2 Web Design
q
enforcement can be funded. This solution is similar to the current
cactus or livestock license and fee.
q Increase the penalties for these crimes to include damage caused (e.g.
$150 worth of copper stolen created $15,000 worth of damages, and National Cotton
q
then subsequent crop loss of an additional $25,000). Council
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7. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
q Provide additional resources for law enforcement. We can pass all the
laws in the world, but if there is no money for oversight, the problem
is not addressed.
q Cotton Counts
q Agriculture in the
Classroom
q Posted in : General q Author : freshair
Brent Murphree
Comments» q
1. CARMEN CARMONA - September 27, 2007
WE HAVE A WORKING SOLUTION TO THE COPPER WIRE q Project Food, Land
THEFT OF LIGHTING POLES AND JUNCTION BOXES…TAKE & People
A MOMENT AND GO TO www.LIGHTINGSECURITYPRODUCTS.
COM
q Cooking With Amy
message
q Center for Global
name
email Food Issues
url
say it!
q Cottons Journey
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8. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
q Feeds
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9. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
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On This Day:
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10. Julie’s Fresh Air » Copper Theft At Epidemic Levels
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