Metal theft: Irritant to full blown epidemic


With metal theft at an all time high, how should the various agencies confront the problem? A Metal Theft Prevention Bill was introduced in the House of Commons last month that aims to close the holes in the system but what measures do industry bodies suggest? Joe Morris investigates.


Joe Morris Freelance writer


T 4 December 1 2011


O SAY that recycled metal is currently ‘too’ popular might not quite be the right way to put it. The slew of metal theft related headlines in the media over the last month are testament


to the impact that the worldwide clamour for raw metal is having on the community at large, fuelled in part by the nascent economic powerhouses making up the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Over the last decade, metal theft has


metamorphosed from irritant to full blown epidemic, with it becoming the fastest growing crime in the UK by 2008. When world copper prices practically quadrupled in three years between 2003 and 2006, this source of revenue proved all too tempting for the entrepreneurially criminal-minded. Crime rates rapidly hit fever pitch.


Britain under attack This year, Britain has seen almost every facet of society under attack; from heritage sites like ancient churches to the more prosaic but highly disruptive pillaging of road signs, manhole covers, communication lines and rail network signalling. To make the situation doubly shocking, often the damage caused by the removal of such material is far higher than the value that metal thieves will ever receive on the scrap market. The problem is especially bad in rural areas


where criminals can often work with little fear of detection. National Farmers Union (NFU) figures suggest that a rural metal theft occurs


on average every 43 seconds, a mind-boggling 2000 a day. The NFU president Peter Kendall blames the problem on rogue metal dealers. “The vast majority of scrap metal dealers


run good businesses to high standards. It is the unregistered dealers who are the problem, and that is where the crackdown should be targeted.” Nicola Guest of Hertfordshire-based


specialist Alchemy Metals agrees with this analysis. “Unfortunately the marked increase in


metal theft can clearly be attributed to two factors; an increase in prices and of course an easy outlet for thieves to dispose of their materials. The reality is that our industry has a ‘Steptoe and Son’ image for good reason and that is that too many merchants will buy literally anything. Alchemy would call for an equal and effective licensing system with clear identification checks on all sellers. If the above system is used then the method of payment is irrelevant,” says Guest. A lack of joined-up thinking on the part of


the relevant authorities also lies at the heart of the problem, according to Ian Hetherington, director general of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA). “Too much time is spent talking about new


legislation when existing laws simply aren’t being enforced, with the Environment Agency (EA), the police and HMRC all needing to improve their enforcement of metal and indeed waste crime in general. In 2008 the EA estimated that there were around 800 illegal sites around the country. Three years later, our members still see large numbers of sites operating unfettered and the apparent size of the problem is a matter of deep concern to them. In fact they strongly suspect that most of


those 800 are still there, and that there may in fact be more of them. As well as representing unfair and unregulated competition, these illegal sites pose a dual threat to the community at large, both by breaching environmental regulations and by providing a ready outlet for stolen goods.” As to why action isn’t being taken, it could


be that the current climate of austerity could be causing undesirable side effects. Hetherington again: “We suspect that


treasury rules relating to EA activity mean that they cannot use fees from permitting for enforcement outside of permitted sites. “To enforce unpermitted sites requires a


separate source of funding, and such sources have unfortunately been cut. This seems very counter-productive.”


Taking up the slack With government failing to get a handle on the crisis, it would appear that BMRA members are willing to take up the slack in order to get the ball rolling. Hetherington adds: “We have suggested


to the authorities that if funding is indeed a problem, a proportion of our members’ fees could be used for enforcement. “After all, the bulk of the problem is


not generally well-meaning sites that are perhaps inadvertently poor adherents to the regulations, but criminal operations that are nakedly and deliberately in breach of the law. We feel that the Environment Agency’s approach to such flagrant offenders is not quite appropriate. “To be fair to the EA, they have had some


high profile successes, but they have usually come after a big operation has been operating openly for quite some time.


www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k “Often our members simply give up


reporting such crimes. Put simply, there is a gap between our expectation and the will or resources of the EA to do the right thing.” Of course, it is not just the EA who are


responsible for enforcement, but Hetherington feels that the police approach to the issue could also be improved. “As regards the police, the main problem


is that they are being asked to enforce bad laws, such as the Scrap Metal Dealers Act which is grossly out of date. Also, police organisation around the issue is too localised. Metal theft is generally a localised phenomenon, But once stolen it is easy to transport and rapidly becomes a national issue at the sale level. “So well meaning local projects lose


impact as thieves can move around, migrating according to the rigour of local police efforts.” In the face of such a slippery foe, he


believes there is only one way to strike a decisive blow – to consolidate efforts across the country: “The necessary solution is a national intelligence service for metal theft. Also, the police efforts need to be better integrated nationally with those of the EA to provide a strong, coherent front against these criminals.” As for Alchemy Metals, Guest is optimistic


that the sheer scale of the problem will make a robust response inevitable: “Wouldn’t it be great to rid our industry of its torrid image once and for all. Hopefully robust changes to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act will mean that in five to ten years, metal theft on the scale that it currently is will be a thing of the past and the law abiding merchants with a conscience will reap the benefits of equal trading.” RWW


Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


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