Suche
Mein Konto
Copper treasure in danger: 62-year-old caught stealing in Aschaffenburg
A 62-year-old was arrested in Aschaffenburg for theft of copper. There was also a traffic accident involving a child.
Copper treasure in danger: 62-year-old caught stealing in Aschaffenburg
A remarkable incident occurred in Aschaffenburg on Thursday evening, which once again brought the problem of copper theft into the spotlight. At around 9:20 p.m., passers-by observed a 62-year-old on Horchstrasse working with a metal rod on a municipal utility container. When the police arrived, the man tried to escape on his bike, but was quickly stopped. During the inspection it turned out that he had removed around 100 grams of copper from the container. The unreasonable thief was temporarily arrested and now has to answer for theft, as main-echo.de reports.
But what motivates people to steal copper? The answer is obvious: Rising metallic raw material prices and enormous demand are driving the copper market. In 2022, copper theft in Germany alone caused damage of around 6.6 million euros. This current development is not just a local problem, but also affects large companies such as Deutsche Bahn. 2,644 trains have already been affected by such thefts this year, resulting in over 700 hours of train delays, according to information from dw.com.
A rising threat
The theft of non-ferrous metals has increased significantly in recent years, both at construction sites and in private households. Copper is particularly sought after due to its electrical conductivity, especially for electrical devices and the production of electric cars. According to estimates, the future demand for copper will increase massively, making the situation even more dangerous for metal thieves. Raw materials expert Joachim Berlenbach sees the development as comparable to copper theft in South Africa: There are hardly any effective measures against this type of crime.
The increasing copper theft is part of a larger trend: around 5.63 million crimes were recorded in Germany in 2022, including an increase in theft crimes. In the same year, 1.78 million thefts were documented, which came as a shock to the authorities. Shoplifting and bicycle thefts were particularly common, while the theft of motor vehicles also increased. The widespread problem of crime is obvious - more and more people are affected; in North Rhine-Westphalia the numbers even exceeded 23,500 residential burglaries, as statista.com shows.
Another sign of the problem
The incident in Aschaffenburg is not just a local anecdote, but an alarm signal for society. If even a 62-year-old is forced to steal copper to make ends meet, then there are deeper societal problems that cannot be ignored. The authorities are faced with the challenge of not only catching the thieves, but also understanding the reasons behind this increasing crime. A good approach would be to pay more attention to preventive measures in order to prevent such acts from occurring in the first place.