12/12/2017
Reduction in metal theft down to Scrap Metal Dealers Act (E, W)
Metal theft fell by more than 75% in the 4 years following 2012/13, when the Scrap Metal Dealers Act was introduced to tackle a spike in stolen metals. Despite the act’s apparent effectiveness, a Home Office review reveals stakeholders’ concerns about inconsistent and inadequate enforcement and the need to strengthen it.
Apart from setting out the act’s objectives and assessing the extent to which they have been achieved, ‘Review of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013’ considered whether it was appropriate to repeal the act or any of its provisions.
The number of metal thefts fell from almost 62,000 in 2012/3, when the act was introduced, to around 16,000 in 2015/16, potentially saving the UK economy ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’.
Designed to tackle metal crime by making it more difficult to sell stolen metals,
its key provisions include
- requiring a scrap metal dealer to hold and display a licence issued by the relevant local authority
- allowing for the closure of unlicensed sites
- requiring scrap metal dealers to verify the identity and address of persons from whom they receive metal
- making it an offence for a scrap metal dealer to purchase scrap metal for cash
- providing the police and local authorities with a right to enter and inspect scrap metal dealers’ premises
While only 3 of more than 50 respondents to the review thought the Act should be repealed, a number called for it to be strengthened and more rigorously enforced. Others pointed to issues, such as the theft of lead from church roofs, that suggested a shift from opportunistic crimes involving small scale thefts to more serious, organised criminality.
Suggestions for strengthening the act included
- making it an offence to sell metal to a scrap metal dealer, alongside the offence of buying metal for cash
- banning the provision of cheque cashing facilities at scrap metal sites
- putting a greater onus on scrap metal dealers to ensure mobile collectors have the appropriate licence
- new regulations relating to the smelting of lead to help tackle the theft of lead from church roofs
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