A costly crime wave is climbing telephone poles across the country. Telecom giant Bell is reporting a surge in copper wire thefts across Canada, saying people are targeting telephone lines, cutting out the wire and selling the metal.
The company has put numbers to the problem. Bell says it recorded almost 1,000 incidents of copper theft and vandalism across Canada over the first half of the year, up 78% compared to the same time last year.
What is driving the thefts is the price of the metal itself. Copper is used in everything from electric cars to data centers to telephone lines, and soaring demand pushed prices up 44% over the past year, making it a target for thieves.
The payoff at the scrapyard helps explain the appeal. One scrap dealer says more people are coming in trying to sell copper, that 100 pounds can fetch $700 or $800, and that he now tells his staff to ask new customers who bring in a lot for a driver's license.
The damage goes well beyond stolen metal. Bell says thieves cut down telephone lines to remove the copper wire inside and sometimes cut through fiber optic cables too, which can disrupt internet and TV services and cut off the connection to 911.
The crime follows a pattern in when and where it happens. Thieves typically strike at night when there are not a lot of eyes watching, and while the majority of the theft is taking place in Ontario, there has been a serious uptick in New Brunswick and Quebec.
The response is unfolding on several fronts. Bell says it has installed cameras and alarms to deter theft and has been swapping some copper lines over to fiber, while Canada strengthened federal laws this month so that thieves who damage critical infrastructure will now face harsher sentences, with each incident potentially costing tens of thousands of dollars or more to repair.