Unoccupied Homes A Target for Copper Thieves

Selected news reports (some recent, some not-so-recent) from around the country on the targeting of vacant homes by those in the "copper theft industry":

Syracuse, New York: Copper piping pilfered from Syracuse homes ("Burglars stripped copper piping from eight homes [on one] weekend... . [...] Most of the homes hit were vacant or under renovation.")

Gaffney, South Carolina: Copper stolen (7th blurb from the top - A currently vacant home was broken into through a basement door; copper electrical wires and pipes were stolen),

Chillicothe, Ohio: Pair arrested for thefts of copper pipe (Police report rash of metal being stolen around town) (Suspects had about a dozen pieces of copper piping, screwdriver and crowbar inside their car; the piping looked like it matched up with a recent theft at a vacant home),

Richmond, Virginia: Suspects in Copper Theft Caught on Tape (Alleged copper thief caught on tape removing the copper gutters and drain spouts from a vacant house). copper metal theft yak