Upon validation and review, alerts you post are broadcast by email to all subscribed users within a 100-mile radius of where the incident occurred. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) is trying to help by offering, a tool for law enforcement that allows you to alert the scrap industry of significant thefts of materials in the United States and Canada. “By the habits, we can pretty much tell if we are dealing with someone who is selling stolen copper or stolen materials or if it is legitimate.” We can go in and look at the data base and see who is selling this stuff…. Any time these scrap yards buy brass, copper, aluminum and other related metals, they have to report it to the state. We look at the Texas metals online registration program. “We monitor all the regulated metal sales pretty closely…. If you operate an MRE in Texas, you are required to collect certain identifying information from sellers of regulated materials to assist law enforcement with monitoring those who are buying and selling regulated materials.Ī lieutenant in the Sheriff’s office is quoted in the article as saying: An MRE is ‘a business predominantly engaged in performing the manufacturing process by which scrap, used, or obsolete metal is converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value, by methods including processing, sorting, cutting, classifying, cleaning, baling, wrapping, shredding, shearing, or changing the physical form of that metal.’” Īccording to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) website, “ Anyone operating as a Metals Recycling Entity (MRE) in Texas is required to register with DPS, to comply with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1956. In other instances, states require dealers to record the seller’s name, address and driver’s license.”Ī Texas county sheriff was interviewed by the online news site, Odessa American, and described how the theft of copper-related items was reduced significantly after Texas got more aggressive in enforcing compliance of the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1956. In some instances, purchases of scrap metal are required to be held in reserve for a week or more before being resold in case they have been stolen. The insurance website article goes on to say that to “combat metal theft, more and more states and municipalities have passed laws tightening the restrictions on scrap dealers. Catalytic converter recycling plays a significant part in the effort to feed the constant demand for platinum from the automotive and other transportation industries that make these devices. If there’s a demand, you can be sure there will be theft. Catalytic converters are pollution control devices coated with chemicals and a combination of platinum (Pt), rhodium (Rh) or palladium (Pd). Analysis of these auto parts using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology has revealed that they contain platinum group metals. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services wrote in their “ Theft of Scrap Metal” guide that to support their drug habits, addicts require repeated and quick access to small amounts of cash, which they can easily obtain by selling small amounts of stolen metal to scrap metal dealers.Īt one point, the theft of catalytic converters seemed to be continually in the news. The majority of these crimes are driven by the high price of copper and many are perpetrated by people looking to sell the metal to support drug habits. Over the past several years, we have written articles about metal theft that involved copper wire from electrical infrastructure or even power lines, metal railroad tracks, church bells, pieces of airport runways, air conditioners, beer kegs, manhole covers, statues, and an ever-increasing list of items containing metal, in particular, copper. The thieves just need to strip the wiring, flashing, gutters, and HVAC systems and quickly sell it to scrap yards. The company cites copper as a particular concern because it can be quickly removed from vacant or closed buildings. According to a large insurance company website, metal theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country because copper, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel and scrap iron have become the desired target of thieves looking to make a quick buck.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |