CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For several years, Southern West Virginia has suffered an upsurge of metal-stealing. Thieves strip utility poles, power stations, vacant mines, shutdown plants, etc. -- mostly to get valuable copper to resell to scrap dealers.

Trying to steal power lines can be deadly. Just this year, four West Virginians have been electrocuted during alleged thefts. The robberies sometimes knock out electrical or telephone service for neighborhoods.

Even the 400-pound Fernbank School bell was stolen from a South Hills memorial and broken up for scrap.

Frontier Communications, which purchased Verizon's telephone network, says the Mountain State has a horrible rate of copper wire theft. Nowhere else "even comes close to what is happening in West Virginia," security chief Lynne Monaco said.

She speculates that most of the thieves are drug-heads seeking money for dope. In hidden spots where robbers burn insulation off copper wires, police sometimes find drug materials.

Frontier has set up a round-the-clock hotline (1-800-590-6605) to receive tips about metal thieves.

The Legislature has attempted to crack down. A new law requires scrap dealers to examine photo ID cards from all sellers. Frontier advocates another law that would require dealers to hold scrap long enough for a police exam before shipping it to national markets.

Here's another idea: Scrap copper is worthless to thieves unless they can sell it to scrap dealers for cash. Why not require every dealer to videotape each seller -- just as stores and ATMs have video scanners watching each check-casher or money card user? Having clear pictures of a seller should enable police to make a quick, certain arrest.

If metal-stealers knew that they, or their surrogates, were sure to be caught after reselling the loot, this entire crime wave might cease.