Reports of copper thefts are continually in the headlines as scrapyard owners find themselves in a tricky situation.
Police recently caught a man on the roof of a Washington Township, N.J., ShopRite, attempting to steal copper from an air conditioner.
Authorities in nearby Wilson Borough and Phillipsburg say they have seen an increase of copper thefts in vacant homes. And pervasive thefts caused UGI Utilities to issue customers a warning to watch for thieves targeting their interior copper piping.
Stories of copper theft are not uncommon, both locally and nationally, as near-record -high scrap prices have fueled a rash of thefts in recent years.
In the meantime, scrapyard owners have found themselves in a tricky situation. Because they are in the business of buying metal, they are dealing with the constant problem of people trying to hawk stolen goods.
Ken Moyer, owner of Easton Iron & Metal, said he has seen just about every trick thieves employ to hide the fact they are peddling stolen property.
"It's pretty weird. I should write a book," he said. "If only they would put their mind to doing the right things, they could be pretty successful."
In recent years, the New York, northern New Jersey and Long Island region has been among the top five areas nationwide with the highest amount of metal thefts, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Moyer estimated he has been called to court to testify against metal thieves roughly 70 times.
"It's terrible," he said. "But they see it as quick, easy money."
Most recently, police arrested a 49-year-old Phillipsburg man trying to sell 220 feet of copper wire that had been stolen from a company in Alpha. He was caught after Moyer alerted Easton police to the attempted sale.
A Washington, D.C.-based industry group, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, said the key to curbing copper thefts is for similar cooperation between police and scrapyard owners. In an effort to help, the group has compiled a database for police and owners to share information about sales and thefts.
"No one is immune to this problem," the group said in a statement.
While they did not have specific numbers in regards to copper thefts, Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke and Phillipsburg police Chief James Faulborn said they too have seen an increase in burglaries over the past year.
And while there is no statistical evidence as to why, Burke said he believed it may be related to the downturn of the economy.
"People are out of work and they get desperate," he said.
One of the more popular targets for copper thieves has been utility companies. PPL has reported roughly two dozen copper wire theft incidents so far this year, most of which occurred at substations, spokesman Joseph Nixon said.
Last year, power was knocked out at an estimated 8,000 homes in Hazleton, Pa., after a failed attempt to steal wire from a live transmission line. In February 2012, Phillipsburg police reported someone cut down an active utility pole to steal the transformer. It was found about a week later stripped of its copper.
While copper thefts have become an expensive nuisance for utility companies that are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance and repairs, it could become a fatal decision for a thief looking to make a quick buck, officials warn.
"It's obviously very dangerous and could lead to someone getting injured or killed," Nixon said. "These thieves are taking this copper and the money they are getting is certainly not worth risking their lives."
Hoping to give law enforcement officials additional tools to track copper thieves, New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that would make the process of selling metal more tightly scrutinized.
In part, it would require metal recycling businesses to accept deliveries only from trucks, recording the license plate numbers and handing out payments through nontransferable checks.
Moyer said he believes the legislation would be beneficial.
"Maybe if all the scrapyards were more tough on accepting stolen material, and people knew they would get busted, it would help," he said.