Metal theft project halves crime in north-east England

By Ben Mundy
Newsbeat reporter

Metal theft has been halved in north-east England after a trial ID scheme, according to British Transport Police.

Around 150 scrap merchants in Cleveland, Northumbria and Durham signed up to Operation Tornado.

They were asked in January to only accept metal from customers who could produce photo ID and urged to keep more detailed records.

The six-month project was designed to make it harder for thieves to convert their stolen metal into cash.

Police forces and scrapyards across England and Wales are now adopting the guidelines after their success while the measures are being looked at in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

'Emotional side'

"Metal theft is a significant problem and affects things like your internet when cables are cut and disrupts journeys when the railways are damaged," said Chief Inspector Robin Edwards from British Transport Police, who led the operation.

"Then there's the emotional side with war memorials removed and plaques on gravestones taken."

Ch Insp Robin Edwards says most metal is stolen by opportunists

Last week, MPs agreed to look at the law on selling scrap metal which has been in place since the 1960s.

"The identification checking seen in Operation Tornado is one of the things being looked at as part of these law changes," Ch Insp Robin Edwards added.

"The trial has had a massive impact particularly in Durham with crimes dropping from 400 a month to 100 a month."

It is estimated metal theft costs the UK economy around £770m a year, but Ch Insp Robin Edwards doesn't believe the guidelines will force thieves to export it.

"A large proportion of stolen metal is stolen by opportunists at the bottom end of the scale," he said.

"I'm not saying it doesn't happen but they are going to find it very difficult to export it."

'No pay'

Chris Trotter, who manages a scrap merchants in Durham, says signing up to the new guidelines hasn't affected his business too much.

"There was a sequence of meetings last year about the proposals but we agreed something had to be done to tackle the problem," he said.

Chris Trotter backs the plan but doesn't want cash payments banned

"We still get the occasional customer who comes in without ID, but that's fine. They just don't get paid.

"People know what is expected of them now though."

An area not covered by the trial, but being looked at as part of a change to the law around metal theft, is banning cash payments to people selling scrap.

Chris Trotter says that is one step too far.

He said: "The important thing is we're trying to detect stolen material so the method of payment is irrelevant.

"If you do away with cash payments you're adding another cost to your business because you will need to sort cheques or bank transfers.

"The way the economy is, adding costs makes it very difficult."