With the market value of copper increasing as much as 400% since 2000, the metal has become more attractive to thieves looking for an easy source of cash.  Utility companies (telephone poles), construction companies (because copper is one of the main materials used on site), and residential homeowners have been hit.  Copper is coming off poles, transformers, and off outside air conditioner condenser units.

          In Tulsa, Oklahoma, police say copper stealing has become an epidemic.  Thieves are removing the copper electric lines along roadways, stealing wiring systems from churches, and ripping off condensers from shopping mall roof tops.  In addition, builders report that copper plumbing pipes and in-wall wiring are being stolen from their construction sites.

          Covering the home, if you own an air condition condenser unit, there are a couple of tips to avoid theft.  Joel Kinsch, President of the Green Country Chapter of Air Conditioning Contractors of America, tells Tulsa World there are two ways a homeowner can discourage condenser theft:

“Shoot ‘Hilti nails’ through the base pan of the condensing unit into the concrete pad it sits on so that when they try to steal it they’ll have to drag off the 500-pound pad as well.  (Hilti makes a concrete-piercing, steel-pin-firing gun that uses a .22-caliber cartridge to attach 2-by-4-inch wall plates to new concrete.)  The other method is we have a device that hooks onto the refrigerant lines and it, in turn, connects to the alarm system in your home and when someone cuts the line and the refrigerant is lost, the alarm goes off, alerting your security service.