Theft reduction trial
Trial to cut off the cable thieves
Our network has been attacked several times this year by thieves who cut and steal our cables from the external plant.
We've brought together our teams in Openreach operations and security and formed a partnership with Crimestoppers and SmartWater to try and stop these attacks happening and keep the phone, television and broadband service upheld at all times.
The area that's been most affected is south London, so as of early May we're trialing a new initiative here to see if we can reduce cable crime by working with these outside agencies and engaging with the general public.
We want the community to know:
- why we're there and the effect that cable theft has on communications – after all, it's hard to dial 999 if you haven't got a line.
- that it's not our fault. We're the proud guardians of the infrastructure that delivers the data, broadband and voice services that our customers sell. We take good care of it and have invested heavily to protect it. We want the public to know that we're doing everything we can.
- that we need the public's help. We'd like to ask them to be vigilant. We're encouraging them to report any strange vehicles, people acting suspiciously or anything out of the ordinary. If people are wary of contacting the police, they can ring Crimestoppers anonymously. We're offering a reward of up to £1,000 for information that leads to a conviction.
This trial will be starting in early May. Any information we can get will help protect the network, keep everyone connected and reduce crime.
