Thieves have also created public safety hazards by targeting public sources of valuable metals, such as manhole covers, traffic lights and telecommunications and electric infrastructure.

Because in many cases the recycling facilities were taking the heat for accepting the stolen materials, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), the national trade association for the $87 billion industry, began working aggressively to combat the theft problem by creating coalitions with local law enforcement agencies. 

One of the most effective tools ISRI developed is the new ScrapTheftAlert.com system. Available for free to every law enforcement agency in the country, registered law enforcement officials can post a reported metal theft on the system which then sends an e-mail alert to all scrap recycling facilities within a 250-mile radius.  Scrap recyclers are then on the lookout for the stolen material and can help police apprehend suspects.  Additionally, the system issues “reverse alerts” to enable scrap recyclers that suspect they have received materials that may be stolen to find the original owners so the material can be returned.

ScrapTheftAlert.com is making a difference; here are a few examples of the system’s success:

• Thefts in Macon, Georgia have dropped 88% in two years.

• A yard’s unique program in Ocala, Florida resulted in 37 arrests in less than two years.

• Indianapolis, Indiana has seen hundreds of theft reports result in more than 150 arrests.

• ISRI members helped crack a dangerous catalytic converter theft ring in Michigan.

And there are more success stories in Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Missouri, Massachusetts, and even urban areas such as Los Angeles, California.

This video is provided by ISRI.  For more info, go to www.isri.org and select “Materials Theft” from the menu.