Police Continue to Battle Copper Thieves

By Pamela Mortimer

Vacant homes, particularly those affected by foreclosure, are prime targets for thieves in search of valuable materials. Among the most valuable items in the house is any type of copper which turned over for a nice profit.

Atlanta police officers Bernatt Collins and Bryan Ernest have been faced with a lot of burglaries involving this type of theft. In fact, when a call comes in, the officers can assume that the house will probably be stripped right down to the rafters

Collins and Ernest are part of a special burglary task force formed to monitor the escalating number of vacant houses, many of which result from unpaid mortgages and bank foreclosure.

When called to the scene of a burglary, Collins and Ernest follow police procedure by drawing their guns before approaching the vacant house. The men yell "Atlanta police!" before entering the house although it’s almost a certainty that the thieves are long gone. What the police often find instead of the burglars is a building full of destroyed walls, ceilings, and fixtures. The only thing the burglars seem to be interested in is the copper used throughout the structure.

"This is all copper that they are taking out down the walls," Ernest said. "You can see where the outlets were, any bit of copper they take."

The Atlanta Police Department hasn’t been keeping track of the number of vacant homes that have been burglarized. Currently, burglaries of all homes are categorized together and police haven’t started to differentiate between burglaries taking place at occupied homes versus the vandalism at vacant houses.

Due to the nation’s foreclosure crisis, law enforcement officials have reported an increasing number of empty houses being burglarized. Developers are having great difficulty selling new homes and landlords are having difficulty renting existing properties. To date, the Atlanta PD is one of the few agencies to create a special task force to deal with the problem.

While many burglaries can be attributed to the rising price of copper scrap, there are other items being targeted by the thieves.

Mother and daughter Vera and Wanda Vaughn operate an Atlanta area contracting service. The team is often contacted by homeowners and banks in need of repairs after burglaries take place. There are cases when the Vaughns must replace virtually everything in a house and then board it up to deter more thefts.

Wanda Vaughn has seen it all, including water heaters that have ripped out and discarded onto carpets and hardwood floors causing water damage. "This has to be torn out and replaced," she said while examining a vandalized Atlanta home. "The baseboards have to be torn out because of mold on all the carpet padding and sub-flooring."

The estimated damage in the house: $15,000-$20,000 for "about $40 worth of copper."

"They took the stove, the refrigerator, the cabinets, everything, including the kitchen sink!" said Vaughn.

The thieves are also getting bolder with their choice of targets. In the past residences were in areas often frequented by criminals. Over the past year, the police say that the burglaries have become more common in some of the upscale neighborhoods.

"The neighbors have been calling and saying they are hearing banging or seeing a vehicle that's parked at a house that's supposed to be vacant," Ernest said.

Another issue with the thefts is that County code enforcement officials often have a difficult time locating current homeowners. Many reside out of town or have simply abandoned the property, police said.