The theft and damage of communication lines is a rising crime affecting everything from at-home jobs to getting prescriptions filled, to accessing 911. Houston alone has seen a 17% jump in the number of cable lines being cut by thieves looking for copper.
One cut, a lot of damage
“When it comes to theft, it’s affecting everybody and those thefts are driving up the costs of services,” said HPD Sgt. Robert Carson.
Carson supervises the Houston Police Department’s metal theft unit, which is leading a task force targeting this crime.
HPD reports the number of cable lines cut by thieves went from 216 in 2023 to 262 as of November of this year. Carson said the rising price of copper is driving this crime. However, stealing copper wire can cause far more damage than simply the cost of repairs or the inconvenience of interrupted connectivity.
“One cut affects so many different things,” said Carson. “Hospitals, medical facilities, pharmacies, part of the 911 system, school districts.”
RELATED: Thieves climbing cell towers to steal copper wire in Houston
Carson said the number of lines being cut started rising during the pandemic when a large number of people were working from home and started complaining about losing internet connectivity.
“People weren’t getting paid because they weren’t logging hours on their computers, that became a huge issue,” said Carson.
Many of these lines run through our neighborhoods and along our freeways. Highlighting the severity of this crime is the case of Bill Baker. Harris County court documents show Baker, 51, cut one line in the Atascocita area in January. Carson said that a single incident affected hundreds of businesses, Northeast Hospital, schools in the Porter and New Caney areas and a portion of the 911 network.
“They’re all on the same line,” said Carson.
“So they’re jeopardizing lives,” asked KPRC 2 Investigator Robert Arnold.
“Absolutely,” said Carson.
Surveillance video from nearby businesses helped police track down Baker. Court records show he just pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief charges and received 10 years in prison.
Following that incident, Houston Police released a PSA regarding this type of crime and asked the public to be vigilant since some criminals are posing as utility workers when cutting lines.
Carson said another part of the crime is paying close attention to scrap yards that aren’t following the law. Houston has regulations requiring scrap yard owners to document who is selling metal to their business. Plus, Carson said scrap yard owners are also supposed to have documentation showing any metal they are recycling from cable is done with the permission of the company that owned the cable.
Carson said officers are constantly conducting surprise inspections of recycling businesses.
“We can revoke their license," said Carson.
A national problem
Nationwide the problem is just as bad. Recently, wireless, broadband, cable and telecom companies from across the country met with law enforcement in the Dallas area for the first annual summit on communication infrastructure theft and vandalism.
During the summit officials with NCTA, the Internet and Television Association, released a white paper on the subject. NCTA reported the results of a survey of companies large and small experiencing this type of crime.
“4,000 times this summer, about 1300 times per month, or about 44 times per day the cable operators, the telecom operators are all going out and repairing or replacing cable that’s been stolen,” said Robert Cantu, dir. of cybersecurity and broadband technology for NCTA.
The NCTA survey showed California and Texas account for more than half of the 4,000 cable thefts reported by industry.
Cantu said the impacts of this crime can be severe since many thieves are also cutting fiber lines in their search for copper.
“You’re talking about impacts to national security. You’re talking about impacts to the military intelligence community and their communications. You’re talking about hospitals that have to either cancel or delay surgeries,” said Cantu.
A Critical Material Assessment by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2023 shows the demand for copper will outpace production through 2035.
The goal of the summit is to help law enforcement and industry work together to crack down on this crime. For example, Comcast created a “one-sheet” to help law enforcement learn how to identify which lines belong to which company.
Houston police also created a system that helps companies document these crimes without delaying critical repairs.
“(Gave) them an outlet where they could report it online to where we’re still getting the information we need, and then we can go and investigate at that point,” said Carson.
Strengthening the law
Cantu said the summit is also meant to address what is seen a patchwork of state laws and regulations when it comes to infrastructure theft and vandalism. For example, the portion of the Texas Penal Code dealing with damage to infrastructure does not list communication lines.
The Texas Penal Code reads, “Critical infrastructure facility“ means an electrical power generating facility, substation, switching station, electrical control center, or electrical transmission or distribution facility.”
Industry leaders would like to see communication lines added to this law. In the Texas Government Code the definition of a critical infrastructure facility reads “if completely enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that are posted on the property.”
Industry officials worry this leaves out those lines running through our neighborhoods and along freeways.
“We’re hoping to inform and educate state legislators about the thousands of pounds of of copper cable that’s stolen every year and the impact that has to not only to the communications sector, but also to all the downstream businesses, the critical infrastructure that counts on our communications to be able to run their operations,” said Cantu.
A check of proposed bills filed so far for the upcoming legislative session in Austin does not show any dealing with this area of law.
KPRC 2 also hasn’t received a response yet from lawmakers in both the House and Senate criminal jurisprudence, and State Affairs committees as to whether this is an issue that will be addressed during 2025 legislative session in Austin.
