TULSA, Okla. — After multiple issues with copper theft, an internet company is now calling on the community for help. Kinetic, a fiber internet company, says in the last few months, they've had copper stolen at least 25 times.
"This creates a significant public safety issue," David Faggard with Kinetic said. "It is preventing Oklahomans from being able to dial 911 and receive life-saving support that they need."
It's a problem we've seen here for several years, and one that continues to happen, according to Captain Richard Meulenberg with Tulsa Police.
"We still have people suffering. We have businesses suffering. We have individuals suffering, but it happens so frequently that it doesn't get talked about that much," Captain Meulenberg said.
Kinetic hopes to shine a spotlight on the issue, offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
"I think some local thieves think that they can take that and not make an impact," Faggard said. "However, they are making an impact, and it's a negative one on the community."
If caught, Captain Meulenberg reminds criminals that it's a serious offense that carries jail time.
"If you are a nefarious individual out there stealing copper, stealing this material, it's a felony," Captain Meulenberg said.
He adds that these criminals typically stake out a location before stealing the material, so having personal surveillance equipment goes a long way.
"So don't just dismiss it when you see someone lurking around your business, lurking around your house," Meulenberg said. "You can give us a call, even though no crime is committed. We can ingest that video into our system and just mark it as a field interview report."
Kinetic hopes people, especially those stealing the material, listen to the advice of law enforcement.
"Copper, they believe, is an easy way to make money. But criminals need to understand that this is not a victimless crime," Faggard said.
Kinetic tells us that while they've seen a number of copper thefts, they've also not reported any long-term outages, with most resolved in a day or two.
TJ Eckert is your South Tulsa County reporter.
Is there something you think he should know about or look into?
You can email him at TJ.Eckert@kjrh.com.
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