TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Metal theft is on the rise in Tucson, and local businesses are feeling the impact.
Recently, KGUN 9 reported on a copper theft at Dante’s Restaurant in midtown, but it appears that the problem is much larger than a single incident.
KGUN 9 received a list of 136 locations in the heart of the city that were targeted for metal theft over the past year. This included repeated thefts at sites such as St. Mary’s Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club.
A group of real estate developers gathered at the DoubleTree Hotel in midtown to discuss the growing issue of metal theft, particularly the theft of water backflow prevention devices. These devices, which are required for commercial buildings in Tucson and prevent dirty water from returning back to the city’s water system, have become prime targets due to their high metal content and the ease of theft.
Once removed, a building or residence loses access to water, forcing businesses to quickly restore access. This can be costly, as the plumbing service needs to be expedited, accruing further costs. This was the situation faced by Dante’s Restaurant last month.
Jason Wong, Director of Commercial Development at Red Point Development, initially launched the Metal Theft Coalition in 2012 when he witnessed thefts escalate. He relaunched the task force last year to combat the surge in metal theft, which escalated following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wong has personally had two backflow devices stolen, costing him $3,000 to replace. He also noted that the Tucson Chinese Cultural Association recently had their HVAC system stripped of copper, resulting in an $18,000 replacement cost.
Jordan Benjamin, President of Done Right Services, an HVAC and plumbing company, has also witnessed this issue firsthand.
“There’s a lot of metal in the backflows and they’re worth a decent amount of scrap, probably a couple hundred bucks in the scrap pile,” Benjamin said. “But it costs the customers though two to four thousand dollars to replace them.”
Aside from the direct cost of replacement, business owners face additional financial burdens, including lost revenue and tax revenue for the city. Wong shared that his business had to shut down for an entire day due to a stolen backflow device, which left them without water.
Isaac Figueroa, Vice President at Larsen Baker, has also seen the impacts of backflow thefts. “It’s the most common thing we see stolen,” he said. “We usually have to resort to spray-painting them a certain color so scrap yards can see that they’re stolen or use plastic ones that don’t work well.”
He says the theft problem is an outgrowth of the city’s homelessness problem. “In central Tucson, it’s an unfortunate part of reality that there’s going to be homeless kind of wherever you look. Property damage and destruction is something that we have to expect is going to happen.”
Figueroa says he’s increased security around his properties to protect the safety of his tenants and staff. “It’s now an added cost that then has to be passed onto tenants and costs tenants a lot more.”
Business owners are searching for solutions. Some advocate for stricter regulations on scrap metal buyers to deter illegal sales. Wong says that the Tucson Police Department is trying their best to address the issue but has limited resources.
“You have to take away the incentive,” Wong said. “The people who are buying the stolen metal should face stiff penalties of five to ten thousand dollars because that’s what it’s costing property owners to replace damaged equipment.”
Benjamin suggested that increasing oversight on who sells metal and how it is collected could help reduce theft.
“People who buy it are legit businesses that don’t want to lose their licenses and want to stay operating,” he said. “So if you could regulate that—how they sell the product, how they bring the product, who brings the product in—that’s probably your best aspect. Take the value out of it. If there’s no value, they’re not going to do it.”
Figueroa says that dialogue and collaboration with scrap metal yards could make a dent in the problem.
“We have to work hand-in-hand with the scrap metal yards,” he said. “I have friends that own one of the major ones in town and they very much do not buy stolen metal that comes through, but there are smaller ones in town that I think aren’t as discerning and will take anything that comes to them.”
KGUN9 will keep you updated as the story develops.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
