Police Search for Vandals Cutting Phone Lines

Susan Wood ReportingNPS is a retail store that sells everything from groceries to antiques and it’s one of several businesses that have been hit by vandals recently. In fact, it’s been hit four times in the last two months.

NPS is beefing up its security system today after repeated attempts by a vandal who wants to get inside.

Stan Alexander, NPS Security Mgr.: “Basically they cut the phone cables so that they can’t communicate to the alarm company.”

It's not just NPS's phone lines being affected. The vandal typically goes up and down the street from box to box, breaking in and clipping away. Several businesses around NPS have been affected, along with an industrial block on 3rd West.

In most cases the green boxes are very easy to access and police say that's where the problem lies. People are just pulling off the covers or prying them open to get to the lines. Then when the lines are cut and the alarm system de-activated, the vandal comes back to break into the business. He got into NPS.

Thieves have also been cutting lines to break into banks and other businesses. In fact, they broke into a credit union after cutting the lines last week; a total of 21 banks and businesses have been hit.

They're after cash and other valuables. In some cases, they're even stealing personal records, which could lead to identity theft.

Alarm companies can put in a system to detect when someone is tampering with the lines. Meanwhile, businesses like NPS are doing whatever else they can to protect themselves.

NPS'S surveillance system spotted the vandal when he came back to one box to cut the lines again. They cut down an entire row of bushes and trimmed the trees to keep a closer watch. And now, police are offering a reward to catch these guys.

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