Alameda County District Attorney Spearheads Undercover Investigation Into Rampant Scrap Metal Theft

Alameda County District Attorney spearheads undercover investigation into rampant scrap metal theft. Consumers may ultimately pay higher prices for electricity, food products and homes when the businesses involved in those industries suffer huge financial losses due to scrap metal theft. In response to an epidemic of metal theft in Northern California that plagued farms, construction sites and industrial yards, the Consumer and Environmental Protection Division of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office initiated a covert investigation of the local recycling industry. Law enforcement sources indicated that some of the stolen material made its way to local metal recyclers by way of “walk in” customers posing as legitimate sellers of scrap material. The investigation of local metal recyclers focused on whether the companies were in compliance with certain regulatory provisions relating to the recycling of scrap metals and alloys. State law requires that scrap metal dealers exercise a high level of diligence when accepting certain types of material for recycling. Additionally, scrap dealers are required to keep detailed records of each transaction and make them available for law enforcement inspection for two years subsequent to the date of purchase. The District Attorney’s investigation concluded with the filling of three civil judgments against local recyclers that mandated the paying of significant penalties, reimbursement of investigatory costs and fundamental changes in the way the companies did business. By 2008 scrap metal theft had become an overwhelming problem in the Bay Area and across the country. Incidences of metal theft increased along with the worldwide price paid for scrap metal. Prices for scrap metals had risen dramatically due to the rapid industrialization in India and China. The metals most commonly stolen were copper, aluminum, brass and bronze. Generic scrap metal had drastically increased in price over recent years. Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Often confused with waste, scrap in fact has monetary value. The scrap industry in the United States processes more than 145 million tons of recyclable material each year into raw material feedstock for industrial manufacturing around the world and had become a 71 billion dollar annual industry by 2007. Law enforcement officials have concluded that many metal thefts are committed by drug addicts stealing metal in order to fund their addictions. These theives can spend a few hours in the middle of the night stealing copper wire and other junk metal from construction sites or industrial yards and turn in the same for hundreds of dollars in cash with no questions asked the next morning at their local junk dealer. Frequently the damage done by the theft to the victim far exceeds the value of the scrap metal. It is not unusual for the victims to spend tens of thousands of dollars to replace stolen copper wire that may have netted the crook a few hundred dollars at the junk dealer. These thefts create hazardous situations in addition to being economically ruinous. As an example, Union Pacific Railroad has reported that the metal arm attachments to its railroad crossing gates have been disconnected and sold for scrap leaving railroad intersections unsafe with potentially fatal consequences. As the worldwide economy continues to recover, law enforcement officials believe that scrap metal theft will dramatically increase after falling in the last year after prices paid for scrap metal decreased. As an example of this expected trend, click on the attached flyer we received last week from San Mateo County. .

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