Law Gets Tough On Scrap Metal Thieves

The troubled economy has more people trying to sell their scrap metal. It's also got thieves stealing metal to gt quick cash.

New restrictions in place require scrap metal companies to get identification and take pictures of metal sellers.

White City Metals says it's seen many new sellers bring in anything they can find but say they've gotten mixed reviews about the photos and identification requirements. The new law, has however, cut back on metal theft in the region.

The company says scrap metal thieves these days, will do anything, to sell their stolen goods even at a time when the price you get for metal, isn't that great.

"I've seen people seen people be dropped off at the end of the block so they don't have to come in here because they're banned or don't want their picture taken," said Michael Melton, general manager of White City Metals.

The company says when the economy gets bad, the value of scrap metal drops. Copper is selling for $2.41 a pound, down 60 cents from a few months ago while aluminum is now worth $0.35 a pound, about half of what it was worth before.

But still, they're seeing many new sellers.

"Selling scrap metal simple way of getting extra money it can be pretty lucrative," said Melton.

The new law requires scrap metal dealers, to gather current identification, and surveillance video of each seller. But White City Metals took the requirements one step further, taking photos of everything.

Whether it's one pound of metal a thousand pounds of metal, you now have to provide a copy of your drivers license, and get your picture taken, they'll also take pictures of your car, passengers in your car and the items your selling.

The company keeps the photos for 30 days and if they find some metals to be suspicious, they'll contact the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

"One time we had quite a supply of aluminum tubing that came in, it was all uniform in size, an investigation found being used on Oregon bridges, secondary roads," Melton said.

These photos have saved them money in the long run, and kept the company out of court.

"Vehicle described hard to argue with that they plead guilty and it saves us money with that," Melton said.

Randy Bates, owns Logtown Electric, and says he'll bring by some metal scraps every few months. He doesn't mind the new restrictions at all.

"Glad to see it, it'll cut back on theft, guys do not want their pictures taken," he said.

He says metal theft is something that costs everyone in the long run.

"It's a problem theft i a problem make money causing a lot of contractor problems, I don't want to be one of them," Bates said.

Scrap metal dealers who don't abide by the new restrictions by getting copies of ID and surveillance video can face fines of up to $5,000.

Anyone who transports or sells metal is also now required to provide documentation of where the metal came from.