As a counselor for both in class and online stop theft classes I have seen more students in the classroom caught stealing steel and other metals to scrap and salvage in the past 12 months than in all of my other years counseling combined. The first question is why do thieves steal metal? The second is why the recent increase? This article will address both of those issues and give real-world examples.
Money, Money, Money!
Let’s be blunt – thieves steal metal for money. Rarely do you find a thief stealing metal for fun – also known as “joy stealing”. There are many rambunctious adolescents who steal just for thrill. This is usually something smaller like chewing gum, trading cards or a shirt. Metal theft is primarily conducted by thieves looking to sell the scrap metal for money.
Some of these may be stealing to support their families, but the majority do so to support drug habits. For anyone who is a fan of the HBO television series “The Wire”, you remember the character of “Bubbles”, an affable African-American man stealing whatever metal off construction sites or out of dumpsters to scrap and pay for his heroin habit.
Watch Your Plumbing!
One of the primary targets for drug addicts looking to steal to support their habit are vacant homes. While most houses are now plumbed with plastic PVC piping, older houses all had copper piping. The primary reason for this type of theft – the skyrocketing price of copper.
While this had been a relatively minor issue in the past, it has become a problem of epidemic proportions with an estimated billion dollars in copper theft last year alone according to US government officials. Copper thieves target vacant building and foreclosed houses, as well as construction sites and communications towers.
This truly is a costly theft as it winds up costing all of us as the cost to replace the removed copper is usually 10 times the actual value of the metal itself!
Selling the Rails
With the skyrocketing increase in the price of steel, railroad tracks are another popular target for thieves. China’s economic boom has seen its need for tremendous amounts of steel, American and European steel manufacturers are unable to keep up with demand for new steel and are turning to the alternative – recycled metals.
In Sheffield, England copper theft of rails has become so rampant that experts are now calling Sheffield the “copper theft capital of the world”. The first 4 months of this year saw more than 3,000 reported cases of copper rail theft!
Stealing an Entire Radio Tower
A few years back in Pennsylvania thieves stole an entire 120-foot-tall radio tower. In addition to the radio tower thieves also stole a 300-pound transformer that was filled with copper. Thieves are become much more brazen in their efforts to support their drug habits.
What to Do
Officials have been baffled by how to stop the rampant surge in metal theft. There is nothing they can do to the commodities markets so they cannot control values.
Given that, they must reign in scrap yards that accept and pay for the stolen materials. This is one of the most dishonest businesses on the planet with scrap-yard owners knowingly accepting stolen property because they can pay the thieves much less than legitimate customers.
Right now officials in multiple countries are discussing how to address this issue. They have to band together to stop these activities. These thefts are bringing some businesses right down to their knees.
Theft is a serious issue. If you or someone you care about has a theft or shoplifting problem I urge you to seek help ASAP. If you prefer to retain your anonymity, there are online theft classes as well.