Copper wire thefts from phone towers and landlines has increased the past two years, Verizon Wireless representative Bill Kula said.
Public safety is put at risk when copper wire is stolen, Kula said. Kula said the removal of copper wire from landlines and cell phone towers could knock out communications and make it impossible to dial 911 in an emergency.
Some people have discovered reselling copper wire can be relayed to a wide variety of markets, Kula said. Because copper wire is difficult to link back to a specific company or project, theft has proliferated, Kula said.
Detective Nathan Sloan of the Muncie Police Department said copper wire theft was active in Muncie, but has slowed down in the past few months.
"Usually grounding wires are stolen," he said.
A recent case reported the theft of 15 to 20 grounding units, Sloan said.
Kula said Verizon had experienced losses of both landline and wireless communications because of the thefts. Stealing a few hundred feet of wire amounts to thousands of dollars in damages, he said. One theft that was reported, he said, caused about $250,000 in damage.
Sloan said copper wire theft was not severe enough yet to disrupt Muncie cell phone service.
Kula said to watch for unmarked vehicles. Verizon does not use unmarked vehicles, he said.
"We encourage citizens, if they see anything unusual, to report it to the authorities," he said.
Sloan said in Muncie, stolen copper wire was sold to scrap metal companies.
Omnisource is a major metal-recycling corporation throughout the country, according to its Web site.
Chris Bear, manager of Muncie's Omnisource plant, said copper wire theft concerned his company.
He said the company had begun taking steps to ensure they do not purchase stolen wire. Customers wishing to resell copper wire are required to provide a picture ID, Bear said.
If copper wire is brought in unusual amounts, Omnisource will question where it came from, Bear said.
Bear said some copper items brought to Omnisource were identifiable by stamps placed by the company that owns them. In that case, a release is required from that particular company before Omnisource will purchase the material, Bear said.
Bear said Omnisource reports suspicious items to the Muncie police.
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