New Metal Anti-Theft Legislation Introduced
By 250 News
Prince George, B.C. – The Province has introduced new legislation aimed at deterring metal theft.
“People steal phone cables, manhole covers, hydro lines” says Solicitor General and Minister for Public Safety Shirley Bond. “To me it’s a public safety issue, when someone steals phone cable, people are cut off from 9-1-1 emergency services, and there are risks of electrocution when hydro lines are cut.
Bond would like to see the legislation, passed during this session, and the law in effect in the spring of 2012.
(click on photo at right for video of metal theft that took place at the Red Rock scales south of P.G. in August - photo and video courtesy RCMP and Send to News)
If passed, B.C. will become the first province with legislation targeting scrap-metal transactions.
Currently, fewer than a dozen Lower Mainland municipalities have bylaws that require scrap dealers to maintain records of copper and other high-value metals they purchase, and to share details daily with local police.
Variations in bylaws and enforcement have failed to curb the problem, and municipalities and utilities have called for a consistent, provincial approach.
The new law is designed to help deter and prosecute metal thieves, minimize regulatory costs for the recycling industry and protect the personal information of those who sell metal to scrap dealers. Under it:
* Those who deal in high-value metals like copper, which are targets for metal thieves, will be required to record details including the weight and type of metal purchased, any distinguishing marks on it, and where the seller says he or she got it.
* Dealers will share these details with local police on a daily basis and must keep their records for a minimum of one year.
* Dealers will also record each seller's personal information, including their full name, current address, telephone number and date of birth, as well as vehicle or pick-up address details.
* To protect sellers' privacy, dealers will assign a unique code to each customer from whom they buy metal. This code will accompany purchase information supplied to the police. Dealers will only release a seller's personal information to police who present a court order for that information.
* The law will prohibit dealers from buying regulated scrap metal from any seller unable or unwilling to provide required information.
Metal theft has become a serious issue in Prince George. The RCMP say there have been 46 cases of theft this year, in which metal was stolen as of the end of October. During the same period last year, there had been just 15 such cases.
The Prince George detachment of the RCMP has already been working with the scrap metal dealers in Prince George in an effort to resolve some of their investigations.
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Posted by: biteme on November 2 2011 11:11 PM
Why did it take so long for government to move on this issue and when they did finally move, they didn't move far enough.
When someone rolls up to a scrap dealer with a stolen shopping cart full of copper...some grave plaques, some industrial wire, some telephone cable etc etc....chances are that person stole the copper from somewhere. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out.
Its been going on for years and because the word "scrap" is used in the sentence it is somehow trivialised and made to be ok to do this wrecking (aka destroying property) of electrical instalations and STEALING public or private property. Oh no we don't see it as a theft and destruction we somehow make it a good green recycling effort to clean up our world and fit with the "green at any cost agenda". It just sad that it is unsafe to wreck and steal this stuff.