This is getting to be a big deal and I think we need to set parameters for the buyers of metal. You know like get identification and register the purchases and any serial numbers, if any, for the things they purchase.
I also think punitive measures need to be taken against unscrupulous metal purchasers as well.
Copper thefts trouble officials
By Guillermo X. Garcia - Express-NewsThieves stripping copper wire from the local electrical power grid are committing a felony that can cost them their lives for a payoff of about $4 a pound.
The problem cost CPS Energy ratepayers $1 million last year and is accelerating countywide, with thieves not only putting themselves at risk but endangering police and innocent bystanders, authorities say.
While the climbing costs to the city-owned utility and its customers are measured in lost copper, system repairs and service interruptions, there's a growing fear that someone might get seriously hurt or killed by the thefts at construction sites, residential areas and CPS substations.
