News
1st Feb 2012
Metal Theft
Dear colleague,
Home Office
HOME SECRETARY 2 Marsham Street, London SWIP 4DF www.homeoffice.gov.uk
METAL THEFT
7 JAN 2012
In recent months and years, you will have seen the growing problem of metal theft across our country as thieves, incentivised by rising global commodity prices, have stripped church roofs, desecrated war memorials and ripped up railway cable to sell on to scrap metal dealers. Yesterday I tabled a Written Ministerial Statement, announcing the bold legislative steps that the Government intends to take to tackle this dreadful crime and to reduce the harm that it inflicts on our communities, businesses and our national infrastructure. I am very aware of the interest of members and wanted to set out clearly the Government's position.
The significant increase in metal theft in recent years requires an urgent and co-ordinated response and that is why we shall shortly be laying amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. This will prohibit the use of cash to pay for scrap metal and significantly increase the penalties available to the court to punish unscrupulous scrap metal dealers, with unlimited fines made available for the most serious offenders. Doing this now will enable these additional measures to be available sooner to support ongoing and increased enforcement activity.
Prohibiting cash from an entire sector is a bold step but cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or proof that the individual legitimately owns the goods being sold. This leads to anonymous transactions that, in turn, create a low risk to the criminal who then sells on the stolen metal. Making these transactions traceable will dramatically improve the police's and local authorities' ability to enforce the current registration system.
This enforcement activity will be enhanced as a result of the £5 million of Government funding announced last November in the National Infrastructure Plan to establish a dedicated metal theft taskforce. This taskforce should have a significant and immediate impact in cutting metal theft across the country including developing intelligence of those suspected of being involved, visiting every scrap metal dealer to undertake an assessment of risk and working to disrupt illegal operators.
