The new technology helping to stop “very dangerous criminal activity”

New technology is helping authorities shut down illegal crop houses, but where are they? See our map.

Technological advances are helping authorities to crack down on illegal electricity bypasses and shut down more crop houses across Victoria.

Electricity providers credit new technology as making it both easier and faster for them to track down suspected bypasses and to pass that information onto police.

While crews would previously need to physically venture out into the field and monitor the electricity network to identify issues, smart meter technology allows them to remotely monitor the voltage profiles of entire streets.

As a result, smart meters are helping to detect hundreds of suspected bypasses each year and crack down on the “highly dangerous practice”.

CitiPower and Powercor group manager of protective security Michael Hayes said illegally bypassed meters posed “serious safety risks”.

“Bypasses increase the risk of fire starting within a property due to the frequent poor quality bypass methods and of course there’s the electrocution risks that come with tampering with household wiring,” he said.

“It’s a very dangerous criminal activity and affects our customers who happen to live near each bypassed meter.”

Mr Hayes added it was also a concern for renters, with new tenants potentially signing leases for properties with bypassed meters — putting themselves and their families in danger.

Illegal bypasses have been found right across Melbourne’s western suburbs and further across regional Victoria, including Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Warrnambool and Mildura.

This graphic shows the voltages had been consistent for two weeks until they suddenly spiked dramatically

Smart meter technology allows crews to clearly see if one property has a suspected bypass as it reduces the voltages for a number of properties in its vicinity.

For example, in this graphic – showing a typical Melbourne suburb – the voltages are consistent until July 4.

On this date the voltage levels begin to skew and this is the give away that energy theft is likely taking place.

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Aside from the risks, bypassed meters can affect the power quality of entire neighbourhoods.

“This can include appliances, lighting and other electrical equipment not working as well as they should because the illegal bypass interferes with local electricity distribution loads,” Mr Hayes said.

Though he noted bypasses were not only made for drug crop houses, with recent examples of bypasses at electrical poles in the street.

“This presents an even greater risk to the community. We’re working closely with police to stop this criminal activity across our network.”

Ballarat’s divisional response unit’s detective senior sergeant Shaun Bingham said energy authorities routinely engaged with police about abnormalities in the power network so police could investigate if there was criminal activity at play.

He said police took cannabis cultivation “extremely seriously”.

Crime Statistics Agency data shows there have been more than 1000 drug cultivation and manufacturing offences recorded across Victoria in the year ending March 2022.

Most have been recorded in Melbourne suburbs, with Whittlesea, Brimbank, Wyndham and Melton topping the list.

“We are regularly targeting crop houses through various intelligence means, including reports of suspicious behaviour from the community,” detective senior sergeant Bingham said.

He said crop houses posed a “significant risk” to community safety, with a number of well-documented instances of fires in homes that were growing hydroponic cannabis crops.

Yet he added that cannabis itself was “considered a gateway drug” and “by no means harmless”.

“It can not only destroy the lives of users, but can have a devastating impact on the wider community.

“Police see the impacts every day — whether it’s the drug-affected drivers posing significant dangers on our roads, the criminal networks boosting their coffers to fund further offending, or the offender who is driven to steal from others to fund a drug dependence.”

He implored the community to be vigilant and to recognise and report the signs of a crop house.

These include plastic or additional window coverings, lights being on all the time, never seeing tenants, a strong smell and noise or unusual electrical wiring.

Anybody who believes they see an illegal electrical bypass is encouraged to report it by calling 13 24 12.

If you see anyone tampering with electricity infrastructure including stealing copper cabling, we recommend calling the police on 000.