26 May 2008: Copper-Cable Thieves Not Terrorists

Analysis of the phenomenon of non-ferrous metal theft has led to the perception that there may be a concerted attempt to attack the South African economy in an effort to stem development and growth. This raises the question of whether it would be possible and indeed desirable, for non-ferrous metal theft and, in particular copper-cable theft, to be classified as an act of terrorism.

Bookmark with:

Facebook

del.icio.us

Digg It!

South Africa’s national infrastructure: telecommunications, rail transport, mining, petrochemical installations and electricity networks are constantly being attacked by criminals.

The public and the employees of government and private sector entities in these sectors are constantly at risk in the performance of their daily responsibilities. For example, the theft of an electrical supply cable or copper components of a substation can cause warning signals to malfunction and can leave mineworkers stranded in deep hazardous mines.
Evidently, copper-cable theft poses a clear and present danger to the national infrastructure and economic welfare of South Africa and its citizens.

The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Hennie Bekker is of the opinion that such crimes constitute sabotage. He tabled a Private Members' Bill in early 2008 to amend the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act of 2004. The intention of the tabled Bill is “to provide for the extension of the definition of terrorist activities to also include activities aimed at the advancement of an economic objective” such as pure financial gain. The letter attached to the Bill makes the statement that “the present situation of regarding these increasing incidents of crime simply as the offence of ‘common theft' ...no longer serves as an adequate deterrent... and it is essential that it should also be defined as a terrorist activity”.

Mr Bekker was prompted to take this action in response to information that the South African economy loses more than R5 billion a year due to copper-cable theft. It was also clear from the report made to the National Assembly that incidents of copper-cable theft were drastically on the increase.

Thokozani Mvelase, Acting Executive of Telkom Asset and Revenue Protection Services supports this stance. At a recent ICT media forum on cable theft, he drew attention to the need for greater legislative powers to clamp down on cable theft. He voiced an industry-wide concern that the slow rate of convictions and the high number of repeat offenders does not provide the necessary crime deterrent effect. This contributes to the perception, among the public, that cable theft is a ‘victimless’ crime. The reality is that the true victim of non-ferrous metal theft is the community. Resources that could have been used to expand the infrastructure have to be used to repair damaged existing services, resulting in the continued deprivation of basic services to outlying areas.

Business Against Crime (BAC) is conducting a study to determine the markets where stolen non-ferrous metal is sold. The BAC was established in 1996 in response to a request from then president Nelson Mandela. Mr Mandela invited business to join hands with the government in the fight against crime in a concerted effort to work toward a safer South Africa. Many BAC members are targets of copper-cable and other non-ferrous metal thieves.

In collaboration with BAC, the South African Non-Ferrous Theft Combating Committee (NFTCC) is monitoring the trends and occurrence of non-ferrous metal theft.

South Africa has defined the concept of ‘terrorism activity’ in the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, (No. 33 of 2004) as published in Government Gazette, Number 27266. The legislation does not define a ‘terrorist’ but it does state what would be considered ‘terrorist activity’, providing an opportunity to test the activities of non-ferrous metal thieves against the Act.

At first glance, it is self evident that the drafters of the Act did not intend to apply this legislation to any uncoordinated actions, such as random copper theft incidents. To prove an incident of ‘terrorism activity’ the actions of the perpetrator would have to be tested against the prescribed definition as contained in the Act.

The Act states: “terrorist activity”, …means any act committed in or outside the Republic: …which is committed, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, for the purpose of the advancement of an individual or collective political, religious, ideological or philosophical motive, objective, cause or undertaking;’

In the case of non-ferrous metal theft, it would be very difficult in most instances to prove that the accused had a ‘political, religious, ideological or philosophical motive, objective, cause or undertaking’ motivating him or her to steal non-ferrous metal in any form.

While the Private Members' Bill to amend the Act would, in theory, provide for the prosecution of copper-cable thieves under the Act, in practice it would mean that a person arrested for the possession of USD 1 worth of copper-cable would have to go through a rigorous process such as the police needing to obtain the written authority of the National Director of Public Prosecution for the arrest, detention and prosecution of the suspect.

Penalties for the non-ferrous metal theft, under the Act, would also be out of kilter with the crime if it were considered that the convicted suspect could be sentenced to life in prison for the action itself, without taking the consequences of the action into account.

The threat posed by non-ferrous metal theft to the economical welfare of South Africa is significant and should be addressed by government, business and civil society. It would however create administrative havoc for the justice system and the police if subsistence copper thieves were classified in the same way that a threat against the sovereignty of the State would be classified.

The best solution to non-ferrous metal theft, at this point, is to raise public awareness. The public must be continuously informed of the imminent threat and the consequences of copper-cable theft. The justice department should also to be educated in the gravity of non-ferrous metal theft. General increased awareness and proper evidence led in court can result in harsher sentences being handed down to non-ferrous metal thieves.

Ben Coetzee, Senior Coordinator and Researcher, Arms Management Programme, ISS Tshwane (Pretoria)