Atronic Client Shares His Story on Copper Theft

Copper theft, as we have noted many times in our blog, continues to be a problem for homes and businesses in the Kansas City area.

Recently a client of Atronic experienced firsthand the aftermath of what businesses can go through to recover from such a crime. Over the summer his electric company fell victim to thieves vandalizing their AC unit. This resulted in an extensive repair bill, an uncomfortable summer without adequate AC and a large insurance claim.

He recently shared with us a letter he had sent to Chief James Corwin of KCMO in response to the Chief's blog on residential copper theft and gave us permission to post it on our social media sites.

"I read your blog regarding copper thefts from vacant homes, and thought you might be interested in another aspect of this problem that is affecting many businesses in the metropolitan area.

After the company I work for suffered an $18,000 loss due to vandalism of one of our exterior AC condensing units (for the copper, of course), we realized that a simple precaution could possibly have prevented the theft."

He continues by telling the Chief how their company installed an auxiliary contact in the safety switch and then had it wired into their existing Atronic Alarms' security system. The monitoring station would be alerted if the power source was disconnected. With ample room in their security panel they had additional zones to arm their unit.

"Even though our new condensing unit has been placed on top of our building rather than on the ground, where it was, we’re still going to wire it into the security system... especially in light of the number of units that are now being stolen from atop buildings (as was recently reported happening in Topeka)."

There are many solutions now that home and business owners can look into when considering ways to protect their HVAC units. Another system Atronic offers actually monitors the copper within the unit, and any "tilt" that occurs when a perpetrator is tampering with it would alert the monitoring station. In this case, the power does not have to be shut off to trip the alarm.

Video monitoring is an option if business owners want an immediate notification when suspicious activity occurs around a perimeter. With economically priced outdoor IP cameras aimed on your HVAC unit the monitoring station would receive a live video and then can determine if a call to the authorities is warranted.

It is hard enough for business and home owners to watch their bottom line these days without worrying about someone vandalizing their HVAC units or other copper items around their building. Fortunately, there are some economical solutions that can be integrated to help prevent this expensive nuisance.

"Just wish we’d thought of this sooner, before we had to spend half the summer without adequate AC in our KC sales office, while waiting for the replacement equipment. At first, we were just going to eat the repair expense, but then learned that the entire system had to be replaced due to the needed refrigerant upgrade, which made it necessary to make an insurance claim in order to help cover the expense."
In a separate email to Todd Harrison, operations manager of Atronic Alarms.

Atronic Alarms would like to thank Charlie Brooks, Independent Electric, for sharing his experience.

False Alarm Fees Increase in Kansas City, Missouri

The KCMO Police Department, starting May 1, 2011, will increase annual renewal fees from $40.00 to $49.00 per year depending upon the number of false alarms. This applies to both residential and business alarm users.

Residential users are allowed two free false alarms per year and are now charged $49.00 for each additional false alarm (up to $147.00). Businesses must pay $49.00 for each false alarm.

The ordinance defines false alarms as "an alarm signal eliciting a police response when a situation requiring immediate response does not in fact exist."

If a residential or business security owner has no false alarms in a year, there is no fee to renew. (Visit our web site for a comprehensive list of permits and fees.)

Atronic Alarms is driven in the prevention of false alarms. Systems are custom designed with the end user's lifestyle in mind and use quality equipment installed by highly trained professionals. Read more on false alarm reduction.

Solutions for Copper Theft and Video Monitoring and Alarm Verification

Copper theft has increased over the last several years and businesses are starting to find out how expensive it can be. Not only do you have to replace what was stolen but you also have the cost to repair the damage. Thousands of dollars can be lost if a building is targeted. On April 27, 2011 the Kansascity.com web site posted that Cerner will spend over $100,000.00 to cover expenses from copper thievery.

Atronic Alarms is now offering several solutions for copper theft. One is a security device that covers HVAC units on buildings. It is affordable and can usually be incorporated into the existing security system.

The other solution is Video Monitoring and Alarm Verification. Cameras are placed around a secured area and when an unauthorized person enters into a camera's view, the video image is immediately sent to the central monitoring station for verification of an actual attack or a false alarm. This type of service reduces dispatching the police when unnecessary and increases faster dispatching when there is an actual. It can be used as a stand-alone system or can usually be incorporated into the building's existing security, as well.

Contact us for more information at 913.362.0000 or email us through our web site.

Operation Pawntrace

"Operation Pawntrace" is a program conducted by the Kansas City Missouri Police Department (as well as many others in the U.S.) as a way to track valuable that have been stolen and then pawned for money. Simply mark your property with your Missouri driver's license number and then follow it with "KCMO."

For example, 123456789KCMO.

Inventory all of your property (make, model number, serial number, etc.) and then place in a safe place. Pawn shop employees enter this information into a database which is checked daily by property crimes detectives.

When you file a police report with the information you have recorded, the pawned items can be located, along with suspect information.

Source: KCMO Police Department web site, Crime Prevention Handbook, pg 18.