How to stop cable theft

So-called ‘cable crime’ is reaching astronomic levels; to help prevent and detect such crime, security specialists Tag Guard have introduced CableTag – a wireless security alarm system specifically designed for this application.

7 June 2010 – The modern burglar keeps a constant eye on commodity prices and scrap metal values and copper is just one metal where there has been a substantial increase, with copper prices doubling over the past year. Copper piping, wiring and cables have always been a prime target for thieves and, with the uplift in the scrap value of this key raw material, incidents of theft are, unsurprisingly, on the rise. British Transport Police say incidents of cable thefts from railways have seen a dramatic 20-fold increase in the last 3 years, with the cost of replacing the stolen cable estimated at £5 million last year, whilst the electricity industry puts the figure for their sector at £4 million. An incident recently occurred where thieves took over 100m of railway cable from between Darlington and Middlesbrough station causing considerable disruption to rail services and another drain on Network Rail’s resources. To combat this rising tide of ‘cable crime’, security specialists Tag Guard have introduced CableTag, a purpose designed version of TagAlarm, their established wireless security alarm product, which can be supplemented with their TagCam CCTV systems when required. For locations like mining quarries or railway engineering works it is not always practical to install permanent, cable-linked CCTV or cost-effective to have 24-hour manned guarding. But these are the very same locations where valuable cable is stored (or simply left lying around) while work is in progress, making them highly vulnerable to theft. Richard Lang, Managing Director of Tag Guard Ltd, comments, “We introduced CableTag in response to the significant increase in enquiries from organisations up and down the country that have now experienced theft of copper cable and other metal-based raw materials from criminals that want to cash in on their high scrap value. “CableTag functions in exactly the same way as TagAlarm but is specifically designed to work on live and inert cables. In most cases it can be integrated with our wireless TagCam system to further enhance the deterrent and detection effect. “Being wireless, the system is much quicker, easier and simpler to install; no phone lines are required and it can be redeployed in any new location giving major reductions in overall security costs. “Apart from the known deterrent effect of monitored systems, we can back the installation up with our 24-hour central monitoring service which means we can react instantly to any incident, alerting on-site security, mobile patrols or the police”. Tag Guard is one of the UK’s leading specialists in wireless security systems for buildings and construction sites. For more information about the company’s products visit their website at: www.tag-guard.com. - Ends -