With high copper prices come higher cases of theft. That’s causing one group to keep a special eye on vulnerable businesses.
The Armed Response Team, made up of former Albuquerque police officers, is using a new system aimed at keeping copper thieves away.
Copper brings in about $3 a pound, and the damage done to a property usually costs more than the money a thief can get for stolen copper.
Copper is often located outside, and most buildings have some copper. The metal is nearly impossible to trace once it’s stolen.
David Meurer is part of the Armed Response Team. The group is selling the anti-copper theft system.
It uses sensors, realtime video and quick responses from their officers.
Meurer said, “The idea behind our alarm system is that it’s not like a traditional system or alarm. We want to detect someone approaching when they are going to commit this crime and react quick enough when we can get there before they cause the first damage.”
The key is to show up before copper thieves get to work.