Jul 25, 2006 10:53 pm US/Central
Fort Worth Steps Up Fight Against Metal Theft
by Joel Thomas
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
Fort Worth is cracking down on one of its fastest growing crimes - the theft of metal from construction sites and new homes.
In the expanding areas of Fort Worth the average person looks and sees new homes and growth… thieves see metal.
Before Shelley Clayton and her family could move into their home, thieves stole two air conditioners for their copper. They even yanked out metal rebar from sidewalk construction in broad daylight.
"Metal can't be worth that much," Clayton says. "To do it in broad daylight with people watching? It blows my mind."
Thanks to soaring foreign demand metal is worth that much.
"Prices have just skyrocketed," said Matthew Wallis, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Fort Worth. "They've gone, for a pound of copper from the 50 to 60 cent a pound range, up above $3.00 a pound."
Over an eight-month period police received 83 reports of stolen aluminum products, 98 reports of stolen air conditioners and compressors, and more than 100 cases of copper theft.
The problem is so bad even city manhole covers are disappearing. And that's why Fort Worth is cracking down on recyclers. They'll ask the owners of huge scrap metal yards to start taking better notice of who's bringing that metal in.
"Now, they'll be under video surveillance or have to provide some kind of identification before they can sell these goods to the companies," said Kathleen Hicks, Fort Worth Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem.
The owners of the recycling yards will have to begin keeping detailed records on who brings in large amounts of metal.
Scrap yard operators must have a way to receive reports of thefts from police and to post those reports.
If the yard doesn't have a surveillance system the operator has to keep the metal at least 72-hours, in case police are trying to solve a theft case.
What the average person sees as a huge scrap metal yard, the City of Fort Worth sees as a way to get control of one of the area's fastest growing types of crime.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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