Preventing Electrical Cable Theft

Cable theft is a big problem.

The value can be reduced by making the cables thinner - but it cannot be reduced below the minimum requirement. or use a different material (Coper by Aluminium) but that is also valuable.

Here in SA they even steal optical cables which is almost useless to them.

Her in SA we export large volumes of scrap metal to China. The source of some of this material must be from informal procurement. By the way the thieves receive only a fraction of the value.

We are putting legislation in place to prevent scrap metal dealers to buy from thieves but it is hard going.

Turn off the all-caps histrionics. And don't ask guvmint to care about this (they almost surely won't). Some capacitors, with a suitable charging system, will soon make your target unattractive to thieves.... There wil be a bit of calculation involved: shocking versus fatal, for instance. This depends on the legal/moral acumen available in your locale. Which is wildly variable, to say the least.

In South Africa I would vote for the lethal version. Not for the poor bastard who is stealing the cable to try to feed his family, but for the swine of a scrap metal merchant who buys it, knowing full well that it is train signalling cable and that someone is going to die in a train smash.

Hendrik, what more legislation do we need, it is already illegal even in South Africa to buy stolen goods. (To steal as well I think or has that changed now). South Africa has almost without doubt the best constitution in the world and more legislation than you can shake a stick at. None of it is of any use unless the laws can be enforced, which in SA is no longer possible because the corruption goes right to the very top.

_{Ok - got that off my chest, now to the next soapbox!!!!!}

Amusing. But highly irresponsible to even suggest such a thing, even in jest.

You never know when some idiot will take to heart a careless suggestion and get someone killed in the process.

Just a little something to add to our own legal/moral acumen here at CR4.

Years ago (_{How long ago? Even years before God invented water}.), we put a train signalling system in eastern Turkey. The local fellows developed the bad habit of "borrowing" the copper, so we switched to a steel coated copper. It worked better than nothing.

But, guest, your train system should be using "fail-safe" technology, so that trains come to a stop, not crash, when you take out the cables. Sort of liking stealing an air brake hose.

BUilding materials such as electrical cable, should be kept in a secure area with a guard posted. That is what is done in the U.S. You may see construction sites where power generators are hoisted up in the air by a crane. The reason for this is to prevent them from getting stolen. Most construction sites are fenced to keep looters out and valuable items like cable, valves, etc are kept under lock and key. If you want to keep cable from being stolen, I suggest you keep it in a safe place. Would you go to bed and not lock the door? Common sense needs to be practiced.

I Agree that we need to take care of our materials. This is a Global problem. Thieves exists every nook and corner of the world, immaterial of the country. In fact thieves do not spare anything which they come across. Hence, we as smart guys, should keep expensive items in asafe place with adequete security.

Here in Panama, there are those that would even try to steal energized power cable. In most cases, the thieves are no longer recognizable, but that does not mitigate the damage done. Many cable thieves can not distinguish between power cables, communications cables, fiber optic cables- and they will occasionally attempt stealing any of the above (high power ground lines are a favorite target). The frequency of fatal mistakes by the thieves suggests we should institute a thieves' accadamy for their own safety...

Many years ago, a friend of mine was building a 66kv(?) power line in Chad.

Every night the locals came and stole his cable, so he went to the district governor and asked for guards.

The governor said "Liven up the line". My friend was shocked and pointed out this would kill many people. The governor replied "They won't do it again".

That night the line was left live and for some 10km he found dead bodies beside every pole, usually more than one.

The governor told him to keep doing it.

Apparently many of these places only value human life if it is their own.

My friend was horrified, but after a few days it worked and he rarely found bodies by the line.

We are less callous, so the only real solution is to lock it up in a secure enclosure and if that isn't feasible, have guards patrol the area.

Unfortunately, such theft costs us all.