FAIRFAX, Va., July 8 — A specialized unit inside the Fairfax County Police Department has logged 50 arrests tied to thefts at data center construction sites in 2024, recovering $10 million in stolen equipment, according to department records. The unit, formed under Chief Jimmy D. Carter, is working in concert with a Virginia State Police task force created in February 2025.
Chief Carter has led the department since his appointment in 2022. He joined the Fairfax County Police in 1995 and holds a B.S. in criminal justice from George Mason University.
The record shows a sharp escalation in these crimes. In January 2025, the department reported a $500,000 copper theft from a Microsoft construction site. The department documented a 40% increase in construction site theft incidents in 2024 compared to 2023, with total losses exceeding $200 million.
Northern Virginia’s Data Center Corridor
Fairfax County sits in Northern Virginia, a region that is home to over 300 data centers. The concentration of these facilities — and the massive AI-driven expansion underway — has made construction sites a target for organized theft rings focused on copper wiring and other high-value metals. Chief Carter has publicly called for stricter scrap metal regulations, including a requirement that all transactions require identification.
The department’s investigative push reflects a broader law enforcement response to what sources familiar with the matter describe as a coordinated criminal ecosystem feeding off the construction boom. On the timeline, the specialized unit’s work predates the state-level task force by several months.
The Virginia State Police task force, created in February 2025, added resources and cross-jurisdictional coordination to an effort that Fairfax County police had already been running.
Copper as a Target
Copper theft at AI data center construction sites has emerged as a distinct category of property crime in Northern Virginia. The metal’s high scrap value, combined with the sprawling, often unsecured nature of large construction sites, has made these facilities attractive to thieves. The $500,000 loss from the Microsoft site in January 2025 stands as a single notable incident in a pattern that, according to the department’s data, has grown steadily worse.
Chief Carter’s push for identification requirements at scrap yards targets the downstream market where stolen copper is sold. The department’s 50 arrests in 2024 and the $10 million in recovered equipment represent one measure of enforcement success.
But the overall losses — exceeding $200 million — indicate that the theft problem remains larger than the current enforcement footprint. Chief Carter, a veteran of the department since 1995, has framed the issue as one requiring both police action and regulatory change. His background in criminal justice and his long tenure in Fairfax County give him a working familiarity with the region’s development patterns.
What to watch next: whether the Virginia General Assembly takes up scrap metal identification requirements in its next session, and whether the state task force’s work produces a measurable drop in thefts at data center construction sites across Northern Virginia.
