It used to be that stereos, jewelry and high-value imported cars were among the items most desired by thieves plaguing area businesses and neighborhoods.

But now that commodity prices for such metals as copper, stainless steel and aluminum are reaching new heights, police say less glittery items such as copper downspouts, plumbing pipe, and even junk cars are beginning to disappear as well.

Plainville Police Sgt. Jim Alfred said there was an upsurge beginning last winter in copper piping being stolen from unoccupied homes or buildings under construction. Even old cars are not safe.

"We've had incidents where a flatbed rolled up in front of the house and took the car right out of the yard," Alfred said. "Whether it's the state of the economy or something else, people seem more interested in stealing scrap metal now."

Homeowners, car owners and developers aren't the only victims being raided of valuable metals. Several thousand feet of thick copper wire was stolen earlier this month from the Attleboro Water Department. And thieves even unbolted aluminum "U channels" intended for flood control from a Roy Avenue culvert over the Seven Mile River.

"They're brackets attached to the culvert that we can put boards in to control the water flow," said John Clover, director of Attleboro's Public Works Department. "It's designed to safeguard residents downstream. For someone to steal them, I'd have to say that's a new low."

The Attleboro Water Department, which has been installing new power cables off West Street, has been victimized on three occasions in recent weeks by thieves who cut down wires, apparently to sell as scrap, Attleboro Police Detective Lt. John Otrando said. Some of the wire was recovered, as was a ladder apparently used in the crime.

"Apparently they had knowledge that the cable was not yet in use," Otrando said. "If it had had power going through it, they could have been electrocuted."

The wire, Otrando said, was valued at about $800 per 1,000 feet.

With prices for copper reaching $3.70 a pound recently and the value of other metals rising as well, little seems sacred.

In Abington, someone stole a bronze sculpture from the front of the town's new library building. Officials placed its value in the thousands of dollars. In Falmouth, someone stole a bronze plaque dedicated to the memory of two victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Other locations around the country have reported thefts of aluminum bleacher seats from a high school, empty beer kegs and an entire trailer-load of steel scrap in Georgia.

While their deeds might be less criminally glamorous than a jewel heist, authorities say thieves who take well-chosen scrap from homes or businesses can make fabulous profits.

In March, the theft of just four pieces of stainless-steel pipe from a West Warwick, R.I., welding shop was valued at $20,000, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. The theft of metals is not new, and apparently follows economic cycles and fluctuations in the value of materials.

In February 1995, a 200-pound steel sculpture was stolen from outside the Attleboro Arts Museum. And again, in February 2002, a 500-pound bronze sculpture was dragged from the museum grounds.

In September 2002, a 200-pound brass crucifix was stolen from the grounds of LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro. And in July 2003, a bronze plaque was stolen from the base of a sculpture at the Seekonk Library.

While increased demand from the construction industry and other metals users has played a major role in recent years in driving up prices, increased demand from developing countries - especially China - is putting an additional premium on certain scrap metals, according to an article by Scott Berinato on CSO Online, a Web site aimed at corporate security executives.

Although the price has come down slightly, copper hit a record price of more than $4 a pound, said Bryan McGannon of the recycling institute. Other metals, including aluminum and steel, also have been trading recently at historically high prices, partly driven by increased demand.

With prices sky high, thieves can make a lucrative living by selling their purloined materials to scrap yards, which redeem metals from industrial firms as well as individuals.

Officials in the recycling industry say they are cooperating in a drive to discourage metals thieves, but that ultimately opportunistic criminals are bound to take advantage of spiraling prices.

"No responsible recycler wants to be in the position of accepting materials that have been stolen," said McGannon, who added that scrap recycling businesses are nonetheless at a disadvantage because stolen scrap is functionally indistinguishable from legitimate materials.

The Web site maintained by the institute displayed numerous examples of how member scrap recycling firms have helped law enforcement crack thefts.

The group also lists a number of recommendations to member firms to deter or prevent metals thefts by requiring recyclers to provide identification, recording detailed information about transactions and adding video cameras equipped with a time stamp to record transactions.

The institute also suggests members consider refusing to purchase certain types of materials unless they are accompanied by a contract or letter of authorization. Those materials include "new production" scrap or new materials involved in a manufacturing process being sold by an individual recycler, items typically used only by governments or utilities, such as guardrails and manhole covers and contractors' tools.

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.