Farm, house, and company owners are being warned by the Sovereign Base Area Police to be extra cautious in safeguarding their properties in light of the recent rise in theft.
Copper is a popular target for criminals; 42 cases were documented between April and August this year, according to police authorities.
The police term for this type of crime is acquisitive crime, and it has been declining gradually over the past several years. However, as the island-wide economic crisis has taken its toll on homes, criminals are seeking any opportunity to make a profit.
Copper, according to Dhekelia CID Inspector Fanos Christodoulou, is currently worth around €6,500 per tonne, making it an easy and apparent commodity to sell to scrap metal yards.
He said: “We are seeing the increase in theft of copper wires, tools and any other machinery that contains the material, so people need to be vigilant and secure their property.”
The owners of farms are particularly at risk because they store valuable tools and machinery in rural places, where criminals may operate in the dark.
“People don’t usually lock up their equipment in these areas, and they can move at night, so farmland seems like a good place for thieves to target,” Inspector Christodoulou added.
“Farmland appears to be an easy target for thieves as they can move at night and the majority of the time, people don’t tend to lock up their equipment in these areas,” Inspector Christodoulou said.
“This needs to change and we advise everyone to make their items less accessible to steal. By taking measures like locking up your tools in a secure box, or installing CCTV, this will make you less vulnerable.”
“Taking these measures will obviously come at a financial cost but in these situations, a short-term outlay will save you money in the long run, so it is a good investment.”
Inspector Christodoulou said that the connection between the SBA Police and the local community is crucial because of the vast amount of rural land in the Dhekelia area, even though the SBA Police perform frequent patrols.
He continued: “We rely heavily on our good contacts within the villages in the Eastern SBAs to tackle this problem. We cannot be everywhere, all at once, so we need help in catching thieves.
“If people see any suspicious activity, we urge them to report it to the police and we can take action.”
Inspector Christodoulou continued: “Thieves will target any items they can and we have seen the theft of solar panels, car batteries, boilers and generators as they all have a value.
“If it can be stolen, it is a target, so we must all work together to keep the areas we live and work in safe for one another.”
