Petty Theft Safety: 4 Tips to Curb Copper Pipe Crime

When we think of protecting our property, often it’s the items inside our home or business that we are most concerned for. However, the exterior of your property has plenty items that opportunistic criminals find valuable. One of the most commonly stolen items is copper piping and over September our control centre reported a 7% increase in theft, with a total of 19 incidents of copper pipe theft. 
Prevent petty theft with our top 4 tips to curb copper pipe crime:

1. Ramp up your perimeter Security.

Make sure that your perimeter wall or fence is adequately secured with an electric fence that is connected to your home alarm system. Install an anti-gatecrashing kit, connect it to your alarm system and make sure that you have sufficient external infra-red beams in the garden to sound the alarm. Lastly, cut back any bushes that could be used as a hiding place near your perimeter wall and near your house to thwart stealthy intruders.

2. Disguise your copper piping. 

Painting your copper piping black or white makes the piping look like regular, worthless plastic tubing and could help deter thieves.

3. Set up CCTV Surveillance.

Aside from deterring would-be thieves, CCTV footage can aid in capturing criminals and consequently result in the return of stolen goods and the prevention of future thefts. With image and video verification, which links your CCTV cameras to our state-of-the-art control centre, Blue can monitor your property via your CCTV cameras. When your alarm is triggered, your cameras send us 5 still snapshot images, allowing us to assess the severity of the situation and activate additional armed response vehicles and other emergency services like ambulances, police, and firefighters. You can decide which cameras are linked to us and it’s completely secure as we don’t have the ability to log-in and view live footage.

4. Keep your property well lit. 

Criminals often operate under the cover of darkness. Installing motion sensors, that flood an area with light when motion is detected can be an effective deterrent to prevent copper theft and other petty theft incidents.
In addition to copper piping, the theft of external lighting, garden tools, and outdoor furniture have been on the rise. Ensure your property is completely secured with these outer building safety tips.