Don’t be a Victim of Air Conditioner Theft

One of the hottest crimes this summer is air conditioner theft. This has been happening not only across the USA, but there have been some cases in the UK as well. We’re not talking about the small cheap air conditioning units, we are talking about the ones in large offices or buildings that have huge central air conditioning units. Thieves have been stealing them or dismantling them, as their copper coils can fetch a bit of money. People have been suffering with the heat and damage all over the country.

Examples of thefts across the USA include Illinois State University, where 56 air con units were stolen and a church in Houston that had been a cool refuge, had its nine huge air conditioning units gutted and stolen for its copper. The New York Times said that the damage amounted to $60,000 for what was worth about $400 worth of scrap metal. In Georgia, police stopped a van and discovered 6 air conditioning units inside, and arrested 3 people shortly after.

But there are a few things companies and organisations can do to make their air conditioning units less of a target – summers not over just yet!

Build a fence – A fence with a padlock could be installed around the air conditioning units to deter thieves (remember to leave enough space for maintenance and servicing!)

Build a cage – Air conditioner cages could be anchored to the ground to stop thieves from stealing the cage and the air conditioning units inside.

Get an alarm – A professional could install an alarm on the working parts of the unit so that it makes an alarm if taken apart.

Install lights – Another idea would be to add security lighting to deter thieves as well as alert people who are around the building.

Taking these precautions could not only help protect your air conditioning units from being stolen, but could also deter thieves from damaging your property or stealing anything else from your building.