With prices on copper theft up significantly, utility substations, cell towers, under-construction homes and even existing commercial buildings are becoming targets of a new kind of crime: copper theft.

Photo courtesy RSI Video Technologies

At substations large and small, thieves are targeting the heavy copper grounding wires; the loss of the grounding wire makes the facility unsafe and susceptible to lightning damage.

Photo courtesy Arteco

Arteco, one of a number of providers of intelligent video solutions, offers the ability for utilities to add virtual perimeter detection to help identify intrusions via surveillance cameras.

The growing economies of India and China have created a large demand for copper and other non-ferrous metals over the past several years. Combine that with a weakening dollar and the price of copper has skyrocketed over the past eight years from about 80 cents a pound to over $3.50 per pound.

The dramatic increase in copper prices has not gone unnoticed by criminals and preventing copper theft has become one of the biggest contemporary challenges facing businesses worldwide.

Utility companies, along with various home and commercial builders, have been some of the hardest hit industries by the copper theft epidemic.

According to Jeff Wilson, a spokesman for Georgia Power, losses due to copper theft have increased more than 350 percent in the past two years.

"Anywhere they can find copper, they're taking it," he said.

"It's coming off poles, it's coming off transformers, it's coming off of construction sites, just anywhere it's at," added Philip Peacock, investigations supervisor for Georgia Power.

In addition to the financial impact, Wilson said that the thefts also jeopardize the safety of company employees, as well as others.

"Obviously, it's an ongoing concern for us. Not only is there a financial impact, but there is also a significant safety impact as well," he said. "Our employees who work in substations have safety training and they're required to wear all the protective equipment and take the necessary safety precautions. The people who are breaking into facilities and that type of thing, safety is not really a concern for them."