Suburban Police Departments Fighting Wave Of Air Conditioner Thefts
RADNOR, Pa. (CBS) - Police in several suburban Philadelphia municipalities are dealing with an unusual crime wave: thefts involving commercial and residential air conditioning units.
Police say the thieves either take the entire unit or remove the copper tubing inside.
Since late August, tens of thousands of dollars' worth of air conditioning units have been stolen or damaged, with thieves selling the copper to scrapyards to make a quick buck.
Radnor Township police sergeant Andy Block says four air conditioners were stolen from the Eagle Village Shops and another six were damaged at an office complex.
And so far, he says, they have no surveillance photos of the perpetrators.
"We suspect that in our incidents here in Radnor that they may have been staking the lots and scoping the lots out, targeting them simply because there was no video surveillance," Block tells KYW Newsradio.
He says his department is working closely with other area police departments to try to solve these crimes.
The thefts can be dangerous as well. Experts point out that a person who doesn't know what he is doing can electrocute himself or start a fire when cutting the electrical wires.
Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060
