Cable / copper / metal theft - ongoing problems on the railways and elsewhere

[whole diary]

[trainer]

It's really good to read that some progress is being made in combating this pernicious crime.  As the message gets out that this is now high priority for all Police forces, perhaps we can look forward to fewer delays (and less expense) on the railways and drier schools and churches!

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

I see from an article in the November issue of Modern Railways that Network Rail is now using a new type of cable for resignalling works that has encoded NR^» (Network Rail - home page) identification in the cable. At least something is being done to help identify such railway cable if found after a theft and might discourage further thefts by the informed members of the criminal fraternity.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Failed cable thief who fell from Manchester viaduct jailed


Daw fractured his pelvis, skull and right leg in the fall from the viaduct

A man who fell off a viaduct while trying to steal cable from a Metrolink line in Manchester has been jailed.

John Daw suffered multiple fractures falling 50ft (15m) from the track near Cornbrook station after he ran away from staff who disturbed him trying to cut fibre optic cables on 9 May. The damage caused tram services to be stopped for several hours.

Daw, 41, of Ordsall, admitted attempted theft at Manchester Crown Court and was jailed for two years and nine months.

Daw fell on to wasteland below the viaduct, fracturing his skull, pelvis and right leg, and had to be rescued by firefighters, who broke open a steel door to get to him.

Greater Manchester Police's John Wood said Daw, of Carmel Avenue, had put himself in serious danger trying to steal the cable.


Daw fell from the viaduct while running away from staff near Cornbrook Station

"In attempting to steal cables from a live track, Daw risked his own life before nearly killing himself after trying to escape," he said. "His actions caused several hours of very frustrating delays for passengers. When you factor in the lost revenue from commuters and the repairs to the track itself, the cost of Daw's actions runs into hundreds of thousands and all for just a few moments of sheer recklessness."

A police spokesman said the attempted theft stopped trams to Eccles, Altrincham, MediaCityUK and St Werburgh's Road and also damaged the public address system, meaning passengers could not be informed of delays.

[old original]

Shame he had to inflict cost on the emergency services, NHS, courts services and prison service, let alone to all involved to the disruption to the transport system at the time. Capital punishment? damn right!

[TonyK]

Come on Old Original, we have a long way to go before we stoop that low! A few hundred people being inconvenienced isn't on the same scale as a terrorist outrage, is it?

As a matter of interest, I see he was stealing fibre optic cable. Now, I'm no Jeffrey Archer, but I thought they were made out mainly of glass rather than copper, and are not something I could weigh at my local scrap yard in the hope of trousering a pile of cash.  Does this mean that our budding young master criminal, who jumped over a 50-foot viaduct that he clearly thought was just a low wall, who nearly killed himself, and who may find it difficult to run anywhere ever again, let alone from the police, has got himself petered up for not even any potential financial gain?

Some criminal mastermind, eh? Don't try this in Clifton, my friend. The more of them that do this, the quicker the problem will go away. In the meantime, maybe we should have (plastic) signs put up under viaducts to warn pedestrians "Beware of falling metal thieves!"

[JayMac]

Shame he had to inflict cost on the emergency services, NHS, courts services and prison service, let alone to all involved to the disruption to the transport system at the time. Capital punishment? damn right!

Capital punishment? Really? You want to see state sanctioned killing for a cable thief?

I think karma has done a good enough job on John Daw.

[TonyK]

Capital punishment? Really? You want to see state sanctioned killing for a cable thief?

I think karma has done a good enough job on John Daw.

Maybe punishment in the capital would make him calmer.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Personally, reading about the sequence of events recounted in that BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report, I thought John Daw was rather lucky not to be eligible for a Darwin Award ...

[Electric train]

Personally, reading about the sequence of events recounted in that BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report, I thought John Daw was rather lucky not to be eligible for a Darwin Award ...

He certainly could be first amongst equals in the railway cable thieves peer group; they all have a total disregard for their own safety and well being.

[onthecushions]

Stealing "live" signalling cable involves the risk of a wrong side failure even for a few seconds. An HST^▸ (High Speed Train) entering an occupied section at full speed puts the lives of all on board at "capital" risk.

No punishment, including hanging would deter someone who will cut live 650V cable with shears or jump off a 15m high viaduct. Which of the 4 "R's" might then work - Retribution, Restraint, Reformation, Reparation - depends on the individual criminal. We don't seem to have it right yet.

OTC

[JayMac]

One from 'our' area and one that shows that even those working in the rail industry can be tempted by scrap metal value.

From This Is Wiltshire:

Men admit to taking scrap railway lines

The former manager at the Trackwork depot in Westbury has admitted stealing thousands of pounds worth of scrap railway lines from work.

Martin Wrighthouse was one of six men who were due to stand trial before a judge at Swindon crown court on Monday.

But before a jury could be sworn on the first morning of the three weeks set aside for the case, the 51-year-old and haulier Melvyn Bownes, 50, each admitted theft.

And once they had changed their pleas to guilty, prosecutors dropped the charges against the four other men in the dock alongside them.

Iain Bryers, 45, Craig Chadwick, 44, Stephen Page, 54, and Daniel Bownes, 21, all had formal not guilty verdicts entered in their cases.

Wrighthouse, formerly of Primrose Place, Westbury, but now living in Cheshire and Melvyn Bownes, of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, admitted taking lengths of track, which belonged to Network Rail and were worth up to ^3,990, from the depot on December 22, 2011.

The pair had also been accused of staging a cover up by causing a false order form. But prosecutors said they would not seek a trial on the charge of perverting the course of justice and asked for the count to lie on file.

Judge Douglas Field adjourned the case to April 12, and cleared Bryers, of Fell Road, Westbury, Page, of Southampton, and Daniel Bownes, of Worksop, Notts, of theft; and Chadwick, of Bridge Court, Westbury, of perverting the course of justice.

[TonyK]

No punishment, including hanging would deter someone who will cut live 650V cable with shears

OTC

Hanging, whilst I do not support it in any circumstance, would stop them doing it again.

[JayMac]

Chances of them being around, or in a fit state, to do it again would be unlikely. If not death by electrocution then the major burns will concentrate the mind on the folly of their action.

Their only legacy would be a Darwin Award or Honourable Mention.

[Chris from Nailsea]

A video news report, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Network Rail worker held for cable thefts from railways

Police have arrested 15 people, including a Network Rail employee, who they suspect were responsible for ^2 million worth of damage and cable theft from railway lines up and down the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

The suspects were picked up during dawn raids in the north-east of England.

Ed Thomas reports.

 

[TonyK]

Not likely to look good in his next annual report, is it?

Every company, mine included, will suffer from employees trying to take the product home with them. If this allegation is proven against a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) employee, though, it will be seen by the court as a huge breach of trust, as well as substantial theft and damage. If he did it, his legal team will suggest he puts his hands up at the first opportunity. With the sums involved, there will also be a Proceeds of Crime investigation.

In that video, I liked the use of the Police Universal Doorkey.