Home Copper Theft on the Rise

St. Louis (KSDK) - Copper theft is a growing problem in the St. Louis area, and the Better Business Bureau wants consumers to know how to protect themselves.

They're offering the following tips:

•Secure items if possible. Keep items thieves could pilfer inside. For larger targets, like air conditioning units, keep the area fenced in and lock any gates.

•Make it difficult for thieves. Move dumpsters and ladders away from buildings to make it difficult for thieves to reach rooftop refrigeration units. Clear brush around ground-level air conditioning equipment so others can spot people attempting to work around the unit or destroying it.

•Invest in security. Add motion-sensing or continuous outdoor lighting around air conditioning units. Businesses should try to have someone on site at night or install video cameras to watch for thieves.

•Start a neighborhood watch. Get to know your neighbors and ask them to help keep watch. Never assume the person working on the neighbor's air conditioner or gutters is a repairman. Check with the neighbors, then call the police.

•Mark materials. If materials are stolen, the best chance of identifying them is to make them stand out from other similar material that might come to a recycler legitimately. Marking items with bright paint, and etching an identification number at various places can make the items more difficult to sell.

Carelessness Makes Car Owners Prime Target in Subdivisions

Areas all across St. Louis City and St. Louis County – including Webster Groves, Kirkwood and Town and Country – have all been hit with multiple car break-ins within the last few weeks.

Police say most of the break-ins happen because car owners are not rolling up windows, leaving valuables out of sight and are not locking car doors. This type of behavior is especially common during the summer months and even in your nice, cozy subdivision.

In Kirkwood, police say just in the past month, there have been close to 15 car break-ins. In Webster Groves, police say they’ve had 11 vehicle thefts since May 1.

Officials say the thefts have occurred in parking lots and on residential streets, and thieves can be local teens or commuting criminals.

Some comments from readers:

If you're stupid enough to leave your car unlocked or windows down and valuables in plain sight, you get what you deserve for being stupid. Just because you're in a fancy suburb doesn't mean crime is not there.

Don't be stupid and leave anything attractive to the moron-lowlifes visible in your car...how hard is it? My wife keeps a sheet in the car (for the dog) and covers anything she needs to with that...out of sight-out of mind. These morons scan cars rapidly and will pass on an empty looking vehicle. Many of these break-ins occur near low income housing and apartments...BEWARE!!!.