- Keep it out of site Leaving scrap metal bins on public display is an open invitation to copper thieves. Recycling bins should be kept inside the factory buildings, according to security experts. Unfortunately it's a lesson many learn the hard way, only discovering the fallibility of the factory yard after losing several tonnes of scrap metal. And it's not just skips that are vulnerable. "We left a cooker out the back that was being sent for repair," one victim comments. "They took it straight off the dock and away."
- Pool resources Teaming up with neighbouring businesses gives your security operation significantly more clout. A co-operative approach weeds out the weak spots that can result from everyone acting in isolation. Perimeter fencing, for example, can be kept consistently strong around a plot. Neighbourhood watch-style schemes in industrial estates mean more opportunity to spot suspicious activity. And of course there are the cost benefits of divvying up the bill for deterrents like alarms and spot patrols.
- Speak to the specialists Forget going it alone: leave the one-man fight against crime to comic book characters like Batman. Dealing with it all yourself can be depressing and potentially dangerous. Security firms offer tailored services for factories and will want to carry out detailed analysis to identify your main threats. How much you spend is down to you: measures range from spot patrols from £6.50 per visit, to CCTV and alarm systems costing hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Also, keep in touch with your local police force. Many are operating dedicated teams to counter metal theft and could be a useful source of advice and support.
- Ban the van Copper theft like many other types of crime is driven by opportunism. Raiders are typically bolshie enough to try to talk their way through security. Beware of unmarked vans making spurious claims about being sent to pick up 'that piece of plant' by 'that bloke, Fred'. Tighten up security gate protocol and consider standard operating procedures that prioritise inspections and paperwork for unknown carriers. And remember to look out for what's going out as well as coming in. It will be another blocker for copper thieves who may have tailgated their way on site.
- Shout about it It shouldn't just be the copper thieves who can capitalise on a bit of bravado. Use signage to show off your security measures. A 'Beware of the Doberman' sign may be enough to cause a would-be burglar to think twice. Alarm systems, CCTV and track and trace technology should also be promoted through public-facing fascia, according to security specialists.
Copper and robbers
6 mins read
Scrap metal theft doesn't begin and end on Britain's railways. Manufacturing managers lift the lid on a string of vicious copper raids that are putting workers and profits at risk. Max Gosney reports
Guards leap for cover as a van smashes through a security barrier and speeds away into the night. What sounds like a scene from The Sweeney is in actual fact an eye-witness account of the latest in a string of copper raids hitting UK manufacturers.
Factories rich in scrap materials are becoming a top target for criminal gangs, according to WM investigation. From metal bins to cables transporting lethal voltages of electricity, nothing is sacred as thieves look to cash in on scrap copper prices topping £4,000 per tonne. "We had someone coming over the fence, going into a transformer and cutting out the overhead cables – unbelievable," one site manager at a photographic plant told WM. "They must have been dangling from this thing, which is transporting over 11kV. They're risking life and limb; it's shocking."
Such resolute raiders are making short shrift of perimeter fencing. "We have frequent break-ins," reveals the operations director of a global confectionery manufacturer. "The site has full security fencing but they just lever the bottom rung away and make for the scrap metal bins." Some sites have made efforts to hit back, with barbed fence toppings straight out of Stalag Luft.
However, the defences are becoming redundant as raiders adopt increasingly audacious tactics. "It was a Saturday afternoon and because we had a skeleton team in, the front gate was open," recalls Chris Knight, transport co-ordinator at Cressall Resistors in Leicester. "I was doing some project work in the office when this guy knocked on the door. He claimed to be a local electrician and asked me whether we had any off-cuts of copper cable that he could use to complete a job."
The amiable Knight took the visitor to the factory's scrap area. Only then did alarm bells begin to ring. "There was another guy with him, stood by our copper bin," Knight explains. "He took the brake off the bin and began to push it towards the door where a car was waiting. They started loading the boot with big chunks of copper, some of them a foot long."
Knight decided enough was enough. "I stepped in between them and the copper bin, and started to lift pieces back into the container. One of them started screaming at me with some choice words." The 6ft-4in Knight stood firm. "I started moving the bin back inside and the guy got even more animated. He puffed his chest out and made threats to drop me on the spot." Just then the cavalry arrived. Half a dozen of Knight's shopfloor colleagues stepped in after hearing the fracas from the assembly line. Outnumbered, the four-strong copper gang beat a hasty retreat.
The raider's tactics are familiar, WM was told. "We were stripping out old plant and stacking cable on pallets ready to go to the scrap metal dealer," a frontline site manager reveals. "Some guys turned up at the gates saying they had come to collect the copper cable. They were trying it on with security." The incident triggered a security shake-up, with all vans forced to show official permits before being allowed entry to the site. However this method is far from foolproof, with some manufacturers reporting illegal vans tailgating through security barriers which have been opened for legitimate contractors.
Victims who have the foresight to jot down number plates and go to the police say the reaction is indifferent. "The police are not really that bothered. If you're lucky they'll send round a community officer," one victim of a break-in says. The police are quick to counter. A spokesperson for West Midlands police responds: "Copper theft is a priority for us. We've launched Operation Steel to tackle metal theft in the area." Other forces have followed suit, with Greater Manchester and the Metropolitan police promoting special operations to counter metal theft. The focus is on cracking down on scrap metal yard dealers, with the Met claiming 275 inspections and 15 arrests in December last year.
But leaf through the police literature and you find little mention of factory-linked crime. Instead, officers turn their ire on the theft of memorial plaques, housing estate lift panels and damage to the rail network.
The attitude is fuelling frustration among site managers. "The value of things being taken is in the region of thousands of pounds. It's deemed a small crime," comments the operations manager at a healthcare product manufacturer. Yet small things have a habit of adding up. Manufactures report losing batches of metal with a scrap value of up to £3,000 in a single heist. Add on the repair bill for damaged fencing and battered security barriers, and the figure swells, WM was told. "We're talking about sums that are just not worth claiming for on insurance because of the excess," said one manager.
Then there are the indirect costs. Downtime is a real danger where electricity supply is disrupted and management can find incidents a big test of resource.
"The whole thing is a nuisance," says one manufacturer. "We've got to go to the metal skips and review the CCTV tapes. It's a big drain on the business from a labour point of view."
It's enough to have every good site manager muttering a Hail Mary. Years of hard slog delivering efficiency gains put at risk by petty theft. Angry operators point the finger at travellers as the culprits; police say there is evidence of organised crime moving on to the scene; yet security experts claim it's anyone's game with the recession biting.
Manufacturers' best defence is to get streetwise, according to security firms. Daniel Boyle of Relyon Security says: "More often than not, we receive reactive calls from clients who've had an incident and want something done to prevent a reoccurrence…
A favourite example is when high-value goods are left outside the main building on a Friday evening: simple checks need to be in place and staff made responsible."
Then there's a raft of high-tech, crime-fighting aids to consider. Infrared perimeter fencing alarms will set you back up to £200 a month while track and trace technology like Smartwater offers a novel way to outwit copper thieves. The product can be painted on target items to give them a unique signature, which shows up under UV light. David Reynolds of Smartwater explains: "We're equipping all scrap dealers with UV scanners so they can check whether the metal is legitimate." Working in tandem with the police, Smartwater aims to create a cultural pressure among scrap merchants to refuse stolen scrap. It's an innovative idea, but there could be some way to go. Law-breaking yards often operate in cahoots with others, according to the Met, with one dealer tipping off the rest when encountering police scrutiny.
Fellow operators helping each other overcome a common adversary: the ethics of such businesses might be flawed, but there's something to be said for their 'thick as thieves' mentality. So pick up the phone and start talking to your neighbour. Pooling security budgets offers maximum defence for minimum cost. From digital dome cameras to Dobermans, it's down to us to show our steel in the battle against metal theft.
Five ways to combat copper theft
