When thieves are successful in acquiring copper, they can still be apprehended. Businesses can mark spools and the wire itself with the company’s name so that ownership can be proved in prosecution; they can spray paint the copper a particular color, or even use data dots that only appear when exposed to ultraviolet light. This is where the essential coordination between energy companies, scrap dealers and law enforcement comes in. Upon realization that copper has been pilfered, companies can report the loss to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc.’s (ISRI) website: scraptheftalert.com, a nationwide program. Scrap dealers can check the website and ascertain whether or not copper they receive matches the description of stolen copper.

“The way it would work is, someone would steal it, someone would realize it’s stolen … and they would report it to the ISRI … and then the ISRI would then send out an alert saying, ‘Hey, Joe’s electricity company in Omaha, Nebraska, had a theft of xyz wire. Please be on the lookout,’” Perman described. “And then a recycler would get that actual copper in their store or yard and say ‘Oh, wow, look, this guy’s trying to sell this’ and then basically call the authorities … when they turn it over, that would be considered a recovery for that particular property, so that’s how they track those stats.

“There are legitimate scrap resalers and there are illegitimate scrap dealers, but I believe the ones that subscribe to this ISRI program are legitimate and they’re trying to do the right thing,” he said. “And that’s why there’s been success with the partnership between those of us in critical infrastructure, law enforcement and then along with the actual scrappers themselves.” Use of the website has increased from 652 alerts in 2009 to 2,240 at press time in 2014. There were about 18,000 active users in 2014 with a total recovery amount of about $1,575,532.

In order to help encourage the scrappers even further to join and use the program, he suggested increasing their recognition for their participation, perhaps a decrease in their insurance premiums, a “stamp of approval” from ISRI, or even a reward program, which would lessen the ability of thieves to sell the copper.

“I think also more public education of the issue as well as more making laws, particularly against theft from critical infrastructure; I think that goes a long way also,” he said, adding that making it a higher misdemeanor or felony to tamper with critical infrastructure would garner more police attention. Requiring people to provide government-issued identification when selling more than a particular poundage of copper also prevents a lot of people from illegally selling the material.

“Everyone across the board is really doing a better job. This stuff, which used to be stored outside right next to an building or next to a railroad crossing … now everyone’s pretty much locking this stuff up like it’s gold,” he said. “So there’s a little more awareness of it.”

For example, electrician crews that do critical infrastructure work now take copper spools and assets from the warehouse and have to prep the job site instead of, as in the past, going right to the site and starting to work after inventory associates had dropped it off, since the materials could be taken overnight. According to Perman, crews often require extra time to transport materials from storage to the site. “[It] could be at least one to three hours a day depending on where the material warehouse is located and where the worksite is. It adds up over time.”

There are also many people that are starting to use copper welded grounds instead of pure copper, which is less attractive to thieves since it is a lot less valuable, or using other metals such as PVC, plastic, nylon or polymers instead of copper. Advances in security technology have been instrumental as well, with the increased ability to include multiple technologies on one platform, the availability of remote monitoring, and generally more affordable security options. Cameras now have infrared, low-light and thermal functions, and have really come a long way in the past decade.

“Where there’s money to be made, there’s always going to be that supply of people willing to make it, even if it includes nefarious activities,” he said. “I think that the different technologies that are available, the awareness of it, the partnerships that have been made with the law enforcement, as well as the scrap dealers themselves, have mitigated somewhat the [problem] … I think this would have been a lot worse than it is today if there were not these steps in place; if people were not taking advantage of the technology; if they were not having awareness; if they weren’t having the partnerships, I think we’d be a lot worse off than we are today. … However … the problem still exists. It’s still a large problem and that’s because of supply and demand. There’s copper that’s available and folks are going to be willing to steal it.”