Thefts of electric cables are increasing, according to Dubai Police.
At a press conference yesterday, the CID of Dubai Police said the thefts are occurring at poorly guarded construction sites across the Emirate.
Dubai Police urged companies to take adequate steps to guard equipment by increasing the number of security guards, improving lighting and installing surveillance cameras at construction sites.
According to a study by Dubai Police, there were 84 cases of theft of electric cables during the first ten months of 2011. A total of 480 people were put on trial, including 10 traders who had bought stolen material.
In 2010, the number of cable theft cases was 108 and the number of the accused 554, including 16 scrap dealers.
The thieves raided unguarded construction sites and warehouses, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays, and used hydraulic shears to cut live cables. There were eight such cases this year and one in 2010 in which, one of the thieves was burnt. DEWA’s power cables were also targeted.
Thieves sometimes pulled underground cables, resulting in the explosion of power generators.
Out of the 84 cases of cable theft in 2010, 42 offences occurred in Al Qusais alone and 34 elsewhere. 19 cases were reported from public squares, 15 from warehouses and nine from shops and houses.
“It is unbelievable that construction companies have equipment and electrical cables worth millions of Dirhams but keep just one guard on a very low salary of Dh600,” said a police official.
Dubai Police appealed to the public to report construction sites they saw as vulnerable to theft by calling the toll-free number 800600600, without any accountability for the caller.