Ever since metal prices began their ascent on world markets, thefts of the lucrative wire and cable have proven difficult to stop at the source. Dark, secluded crime scenes and easy access have been a boon to thieves set on stealing copper supplies from warehouses or on ripping electrical systems off store walls.
And access is still sometimes easy enough that thieves will risk their lives pulling ground wires out of cell tower compounds and cables from electrical transformer stations.

Conventional security systems have proven largely ineffective in stopping the thefts. But now some companies are finding a way to keep the thieves out and the lights on by turning to two advanced technologies: verified surveillance and broad-spectrum wireless.

Many companies with copper stocks are opting for remotely monitored video, says Joe Wilson, president and CEO of Sonitrol Canada.

The company, which specializes in verified video and active audio systems, has seen its metal-related business increase by 30 per cent in the last three years, he says. Many of these new customers are electrical and plumbing suppliers, cell tower owners, utilities and construction businesses.

“The conventional alarm guys will sell them a CCTV system that’s just a recorded video feed. The problem with that is there’s no value in coming in the next day and watching someone steal your copper,” says Wilson.

In Sonitrol’s video system, Sonavision, cameras connected to temperature and motion sensors are placed around the perimeter of a compound. When these sensors detect warmth or movement, they begin sending video to an operations centre, where staff check to see what kind of intruder it is.

If it’s a raccoon, they reset the alarm. If it’s a person or car, they connect directly into the police. Officers there can see what’s happening and respond to the alarm.

In vacant buildings, Sonavision is often deployed with audio sensors, says Wilson. Each sensor in Sonitrol’s Active Audio system listens 50 feet forward, 40 feet sideways and 30 feet backwards, floor to ceiling, so the system can cover about 5,000 square feet unobstructed by walls. Sensors can differentiate between ambient sounds — those made by animals or weather, for example — and sounds made by human intruders. As soon as a thief arrives and starts to break in a window or door, the sensors trip, and operators start feeding the sound to the police.

Response time is usually three and a half minutes, says Wilson, because the police know it’s not a false alarm. Sonitrol’s false alarm rate is only three per cent, compared to 98 per cent with conventional systems.

“The police hurry up to us because it’s verified. That means we can verify there really is an event, and the verification is either us watching through Sonavision or it’s through audio,” he says.

For a typical commercial building, Sonavision with audio costs between $5,000 and $10,000, says Wilson. Customers can also rent products and pay a monitoring fee of $100 to $400 a month.