Construction Site Sting Operation

This is encouraging. The College Station Police Department in Texas, along with local contractors, is operating stings to catch construction site burglars, according to KBTX.com.

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/53945082.html

Good for them. The only problem is, is I doubt police departments will follow their example in urban areas where the police have more to worry about.

Follow Up: NC Theft Ring

More information has come out about Ray Moore of Selma, NC, who operated a construction site theft ring. Apparently this man is a career criminal and the amount of materials he stole from construction sites is pretty astonishing. The Cary News reports he stole, “50 appliances, 25 light fixtures, 203 windows, 143 doors, 22 tools, 368 boxes of hardwood and laminate flooring, 142 boxes of tile, 17 whirlpool tubs and 21 sets of cabinets.”

http://www.carynews.com/news/story/13207.html

So if you live near this guy, and you had your windows or your whirlpool stolen, odds are he took it.

NC Construction Site Theft Ring Busted

North Carolina’s WMBF news reports a 61 year-old man in a wheel-chair, named Ray Moore of Selma, NC, operated a construction site theft ring. And this is the best part; when the police went to his house to arrest him for illegally distributing prescription drugs, they found an inventory of stolen construction materials. According to WMBF, “Officials recovered 50 appliances, 368 boxes of hardwood and laminate flooring, 17 whirlpool tubs and hundreds of other items from barns and storage buildings on Moore's land.”

http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=10891594

To Whom It May Concern at WMBF of North Carolina, please keep us updated on this story, because I’m sure there’s more to learn about Ray Moore and his criminal career.

Thieves Enter Building Supply Company through the Roof

Power tool theft isn’t just a US problem, it occurs all around the world. Take this story out of the UK for example. A gang of very sophisticated thieves stole £14,000 worth of power tools by entering a building supply company through the roof.

DaventryToday.co.uk reports that “Branch manager Simon Bullock said: ‘It was clearly well organized, well planned and well executed. They even smashed the CCTV cameras on our building so we only have hazy, distant shots of their getaway vehicle.’” The article goes on to state that, “TBS has a sophisticated alarm system installed, but the gang got around it by never touching the ground.”

http://www.daventrytoday.co.uk/news/Gang-breaks-in-through-roof.5527210.jp

Were they Ninjas? Pretty unbelievable. I’m surprised they didn’t steal more. The article suggests there were probably 4 thieves, so that’s £3,500 a piece. And then add up the ebay fees to resell the stuff which is roughly 6% or £210 and the cost of cool ninja costumes and the take is probably around £3,000 a piece. You would think these sophisticated thieves would go for more lucrative targets. Maybe this was just a training run.

Government Workers Steal, Borrow, or Loan Out City Tools

Hmm, imagine that...government workers borrow and steal from the government and taxpayers. According to Syracuse.com, “Last November, Auburn's city manager, flanked by the city police chief and county district attorney, issued a stern warning to his DPW employees after learning they had been stealing, borrowing or loaning out city tools and equipment for years.”

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/auburn_city_worker_faces_jail.html

FOR YEARS! No private sector business or organization would allow their employees to steal tools and equipment over a period of several years. The article states that after a stern warning was delivered by the city manager and city police chief, “Some $10,000 worth of city tools and equipment were returned, but no one was arrested.” If $10k worth of equipment was returned out of guilt, imagine just how much more equipment was actually stolen.

Thief Crashes Bobcat into Utility Pole While Fleeing from Police

The Buffalo News reports “Erie County deputies said he had hot-wired and driven nearly half a mile before crashing into a telephone pole at Baseline and Bedell roads on Grand Island.” The article states, “they [the officers] found Sander driving it north in the southbound lane.”

http://www.buffalonews.com/437/story/750968.html

Well Jared A. Sander, 31, of Carol Lane on Grand Island, what on earth made you think you could out-run police officers in a Bobcat? I’m surprised the article doesn’t say that he was intoxicated; because you would have to be completely drunk to believe that a skid-steer is an adequate get-a-way vehicle.

Copper Thefts Down because of New Laws?

I’m always skeptical when law makers claim their laws have dramatic positive affects on society, and especially on crime. We constantly here about new laws for “The War on Drugs,” “The War on Terror,” and “The War on Poverty;” yet all of these problems persist and in most cases seem to get worse. Nobody is claiming to be conducting a “War on Metal Thefts,” but this is one of those problems that will continue to persist no matter what laws we create.

San Diego’s Union Tribune reports that “A state law that took effect Dec. 1, and a drop in copper prices have all but ended bulk metal theft in the state, officials say.” According to the article, a Fallbrook sheriff's Sgt. states, “I haven't seen any cases of metal theft in a long time, ever since the new law was enacted.”

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/29/new-law-lower-prices-put-big-bite-metal-thefts/?metro&zIndex=140058

So the new laws are; scrap-metal dealers buying bulk metal must;
Get a photo ID from anyone selling metal
Delay payment for three days
Pay metal sellers only by check
Photograph metal being sold
Take the seller's thumbprint

These new laws absolutely make sense. It limits thieves’ ability to easily sell stolen metal and it also limits scrap dealers willingness to buy suspected stolen metal. And honestly, many of these scrap-metal dealers had to know they were buying tons of stolen metal and many of them are just as guilty as the metal thieves.

But to say that these new laws will completely stop bulk metal theft, as the article and California officials claim, is rather ignorant and improbable. First of all, the law was only enacted 8 months ago; which means, after thieves find new black markets to sell their stolen metal in, thefts will rise again.

Copper prices are the real reason I am skeptical of this article and its claims. The price of copper has absolutely crashed since the height of the bubble. And in December 2008, when these new scrap-metal laws were passed, copper made a historical low. And because of these historically low prices, metal thefts around the country have declined dramatically. These new laws are necessary, but I wouldn’t let my guard down and leave spools of copper unprotected.

As you can see in the chart below, copper prices are rising again, and it will be interesting to see if thefts rise as well.