The figures given in a written reply to a Parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance MP Pieter van Dalen show that in 2003\/04 there were 13 675 cases of cable theft reported, and after falling in the next year, it rose again to more than 13 000. In 2006\/07 the number of cases doubled to 27 026, and in 2007\/08 rose again to 33 156.<\/p>\n
Mthethwa declined to give the figures for 2008\/09, saying they had not yet been released. He said he was unable to put a total value of the thefts because, he said, the stolen metal is missing and cannot be weighed.<\/p>\n
“Furthermore, it is not always apparent whether both the direct and indirect costs involved in the replacement of the stolen property were recorded,” he said, “and the Saps is not always aware of the market value involved in such cases.”<\/p>\n
Mthethwa said that the police consider the theft of copper a priority crime. “Crimes related to copper theft are managed in terms of the organised crime approach,” he said.<\/p>\n
“In dealing with the organised crime dimension of these thefts, nine task teams have been established at the organised crime units.<\/p>\n