A Criminological Analysis of Copper Cable Theft in Gauteng
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i A CRIMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COPPER CABLE THEFT IN GAUTENG BY WILLIAM LYON PRETORIUS Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of MAGISTER OF ARTS in the subject CRIMINOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF JH PRINSLOO DECEMBER 2012 ii DECLARATION I, William Lyon Pretorius, Student number 4572297, hereby declare that this dissertation on „a Criminological analysis of copper cable theft in Gauteng‟, submitted in accordance with the requirements for the MA degree in Criminology, at UNISA, is my own original work and has not previously been submitted to another institution of higher education. All sources cited or quoted in this research paper are indicated and acknowledged in the comprehensive list of references. SIGNED: ______________________ DATE: Copyright © University of South Africa 2012 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have come to fruition without the love, support and dedication of these special people in my life to whom I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude: The Greater Power; for giving me the grace, the opportunity and the strength to complete this study. Prof Johan Prinsloo, my supervisor and academic conscience. It has been an honour to have been mentored by an internationally renowned subject master. Your guidance and continuous encouragement has truly been appreciated. Prof Cherita Morrison, for the academic edits of the dissertation; your incredible knowledge provided colourful guidance and made complex issues appear simple. Catherine Coetzee, for the language and technical editing of the dissertation; you made the content and context simple and clear so that it is interpreted and understood as designed. Riëtte my motivator and wife and also my children; this mile stone is a shared achievement thanks to your continuous support and encouragement, thank you for the copious time you allowed me to do research, and for the unwavering belief you have in my success. Each and every respondent and specialist who unselfishly shared his/her experiences and made recommendations that helped me to complete this research: This dissertation is your words and your message. My employer; BMW, thank you for your support, and the sponsorship you have given to me throughout this research study. And to my BMW associates for your continuous interest and encouragement: We really are a family. iv ABSTRACT This dissertation focuses on the phenomenon of copper cable theft within the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Data was collected from literature sources as well as from security professionals combating copper theft. There are five primary objectives in this research: 1. To explore and to describe the extent and the impact of copper cable theft. 2. To gain insight into the profile and the modus operandi of the offender. 3. To evaluate current intervention measures used to combat the copper cable theft. 4. To describe the general factors limiting the success of combating copper cable theft. 5. To recommend probable intervention measures with which to combat copper cable theft. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with responsible security officials of victim stakeholder groups in Gauteng. It was established that copper cable theft is currently a very serious crime that deserves both attention and quick intervention before it does irreparable damage to the utility infrastructure of Gauteng, in particular, and in fact to all these infrastructures in South Africa. Key terms: Crime prevention; copper cable theft; copper theft; copper thieves; security measurements; Second-Hand Goods Act`s; Non-ferrous metal. v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Compilation of SA Copper theft related costs for the 30 period April 2009 – March 2011………………………… Figure 2.2 Accumulative Telkom, Eskom and Transnet copper cable 32 theft losses between 2011/01 and 2012/08…………… Figure 2.3 The 10 year trend of copper prices……………………… 38 Figure 2.4 20 Months Copper theft losses as recorded by SACCI 40 Figure 2.5 Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange………… 40 Figure 2.6 SA exports of copper waste and scrap from Jan 2009 to 42 Sept 2011………………………………………………… Figure 2.7 Copper Prices compared for same period as Figure 2.3… 42 Figure 3.1 Phenomenology method…………………………………. 65 vi GLOSSARY ASIS: American Society for Industrial Security. BACSA: Business Against Crime South Africa. BAC: Business Against Crime. CID: City Improvement District. CJS: Criminal Justice System. CPF: Community Police Forum. Copper: A Non-ferrous Metal used as general electricity conductor. CPTED: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. CPO: Close Protection Officer CPP: Certified Protection Professional (ASIS). CSO: Chief Security Officer. ESKOM: Electricity Supply Commission. IDO: Intelligence Driven Operations. ISO: International Organisation for Standardisation ISS: Institute for Security Studies. MBA: Metal Brokers Association. Measurements: Methods or Techniques utilised to mitigate crime. PRASA: Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, also Metrorail. Mitigation: Elimination, reduction and minimising exposure to risks and severity. vii NFM: Non-ferrous Metal. NFMT: Non-ferrous Metal Theft. NFMCCC: Non-ferrous Metal Crime Combating Committee. NFTCC: Non-ferrous Theft Combating Committee. NPA: National Prosecuting Authority. PSP: Physical Security Professional PSIRA Private Security Regulatory Authority SACCI: South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. SARPA: South African Revenue Protection Association. SAPS: South African Police Services. Telkom: Parastatal, Largest integrated communications company in Africa. Transnet: Parastatal responsible for the national freight transport viii CONTENTS PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LIST OF FIGURES iii GLOSSARY iv CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 THE RATIONALE……………………………………………………………. 2 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY……………………………… 2 1.4 RESEARCH DESIGN……………………………………………………….. 3 1.4.1 The research paradigm……………………………………………………. 6 1.5 THE PHENOMENOLOGY PARADIGM…………………………………… 9 1.5.1 Justification for selecting the phenomenological paradigm…………….. 10 1.5.2 The empirical phenomenological research method and collaboration with other epistemology paradigms……………………………………….. 10 1.5.3 Phenomenology and post positivism interaction…………………………. 12 1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………………………. 14 1.6.1 Sampling……………………………………………………………………… 14 1.6.2 Unit of Analysis………………………………………………………………. 15 1.6.3 Data Collection………………………………………………………………. 16 1.6.4 Core reasons for utilising Interviews as data collection instrument……. 16 1.7 INTERVIEWING PROCEDURES………………………………………….. 17 1.7.1 Interview duration……………………………………………………………. 18 ix 1.7.2 Focus group interview……………………………………………………… 18 1.8 THE PILOT STUDY…………………………………………………………. 19 1.9 THE LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………. 19 1.10 DATA ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………. 20 1.10.1 General analysis…………………………………………………………….. 20 1.10.2 The empirical-phenomenological data analysis method………………… 21 1.10.3 The methodological implementation………………………………………. 21 1.11 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF DATA………………………………….. 22 1.12 PROGRAMME FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 23 RESEARCH……………. CHAPTER 2 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ON COPPER THEFT IN SOUTH AFRICA 2.1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 24 2.2 EXTENT AND IMPACT OF THE COPPER THEFT THREAT………….. 24 2.2.1 The extent of the problem…………………………………………………... 25 2.2.2 Impact of the problem……………………………………………………….. 26 2.3 ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT…………………………………………. 28 2.4 COPPER CABLE THEFT STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA…………… 30 2.5 RECORDED COPPER CABLE LOSSES IN GAUTENG……………….. 33 2.5.1 Eskom………………………………………………………………………… 33 2.5.2 Transnet………………………………………………………………………. 33 2.5.3 Telkom………………………………………………………………………… 35 2.5.4 The Gautrain and City Power………………………………………………. 36 2.6 PRICE OF COPPER AND ITS ROLE IN COPPER CABLE THEFT…… 37 2.6.1 Copper cable theft and copper price relationship………………………… 37 2.6.2 Future copper price predictions……………………………………………. 38 2.6.3 Future copper theft predictions basisd on copper prices……………… 39 2.7 ANALYSIS OF COPPER THEFT V/S COPPER PRICE PATTERNS…. 40 2.8 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXPORT MARKET ON COPPER THEFT.. 41 x 2.8.1 The export status…………………………………………………………….. 40 2.9 COMPARISON BETWEEN COPPER THEFT AND EXPORT FIGURES……………………………………………………………………... 42 2.10 EXPORT REGULATING INITIATIVES……………………………………. 43 2.11 THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXPORT MARKET ON COPPER THEFT.. 45 2.12 PROMINENT ROLE PLAYERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COPPER THEFT………………………………………………………………………… 46 2.13 AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON COPPER THEFT………….. 48 2.14 MODUS OPERANDI OF COPPER THIEVES……………………………. 49 2.14.1 Types of thieves…………………………………………………………….. 49 2.14.2 Natural opportunities utilised by copper thieves………………………….. 51 2.14.3 Modus operandi of copper cable thieves………………………………….. 52 2.14.4 Modus operandi and role of the scrap metal vendors…………………… 55 2.14.5 Modus operandi of the copper syndicates/Organised Crime…………… 57 2.15 MEASURES IN THE COMBATING OF COPPER THEFT……………… 59 2.15.1 Guarding……………………………………………………………………… 60 2.15.2 Awareness……………………………………………………………………. 60 2.15.3 Technology…………………………………………………………………… 61 2.15.4 Crime intelligence driven operations………………………………………. 63 2.16 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………….. 63 CHAPTER 3 3 ANALYSIS OF DATA 3.1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. 65 3.2 THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AND THE SAMPLING UNITS…………... 66 3.3 REDUCED TRANSCRIPTIONS……………………………………………. 68 3.3.1 Probe 1:The extent/impact of copper theft………………………………... 68 3.3.2 Probe 2:The modus operandi