Councils report decline in metal thefts

Figures published last week (February 21) show that there were a total of 40,680 reported metal thefts in England and Wales in 2013/14, this was down from 59,788 for the previous 12 months.

The decline in metal thefts coincides with the introduction of new laws in October 2013, which give greater powers to local authorities to tackle the crime (see letsrecycle.com story).

Under the law, scrap metal dealers are responsible for obtaining a licence to trade from their local authority, which the council has the power to revoke or suspend if the regulations are breached.

Scrap dealers are only able to buy metal with a cheque or via electronic transfer, and are legally required to record the identity of those selling material.

According to the Local Government Association, the fall in the number of reported metal theft cases is directly linked to the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act.

‘Unscrupulous’

Commenting on the figures, councillor Ann Lucas OBE, chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Such a significant drop in metal thefts is excellent news for communities who have suffered from the chaos, disruption and heartache caused by unscrupulous metal thieves.

“Councils were long-calling for new laws to help them regulate the scrap metal industry in order to make it more difficult for thieves to flog their stolen goods to scrap yards.

“It is great to see it is having such a positive impact but the fact there are still around 40,000 metal thefts a year shows there can be no let up. Town halls will continue working closely with police to keep driving metal thieves out of communities and out of operation for good.”

Looking at the figures in detail, the South-east region (Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Thames Valley) saw the biggest fall in metal thefts dropping 46% from 7,580 in 2012/13 to 4,105 in 2013/14.

Meanwhile, metal thefts in London fell 44 per cent from 3,536 in 2012/13 to 1,966 in 2013/14. The north-west region (Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside) saw metal thefts drop 40 per cent from 8,231 in 2012/13 to 4,907 in 2013/14.

BMRA

Responding to the findings, Ian Hetherington, director general of the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA), said: “We welcome the news that the number of metal thefts in England and Wales in 2013/4 has fallen by a third but the authorities must not be complacent and rest on their laurels. The police, Environment Agency and local authorities in England and Wales must allocate adequate resources to enforce the Scrap Metal Dealers’ Act robustly and effectively otherwise metal thefts will increase at the expense of the legitimate industry and police forces will be overwhelmed.

“The Scottish government needs to bring more focus to its proposed legislative programme and the current proposed bill – the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill – needs to be radically improved if metal theft is to be equally reduced in Scotland.”