Latest News
New law to combat metal
theft
11/6/2012
From December 3rd 2012 it will be illegal for scrap merchants to
buy metal for cash. Dealers will be required to use only electronic
payments or payments by cheque.
The existing legislation is being revised to specifically tackle
the issue of metal theft, which has been a national problem in
recent times due to rising metals prices. There will also be
significantly increased fines for key offences, so that the most
serious breaches can result in fines of up to £5,000.
Scrap dealers are already required to keep records of each
transaction they make, but under the new legislation they will now
have to record details of who any payments are made to. Metal theft
has been falling in the county over the last year and recording
this extra information will make it much easier to track down those
responsible for stealing metal, and also make it much harder for
them to sell metal quickly and anonymously.
Det Ch Insp Tannis Perks, lead on Operation Devon said: “As part
of Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Operation Devon many scrap metal
dealers across the county are already recording who their
transactions are made with voluntarily and this extra legislation
will bring all dealers into line, leaving even fewer avenues for
criminals to turn a quick profit from stolen cables, drain covers
and lead roofing.
“We have been focussing on those stealing metal and damaging
infrastructure for the last couple of years and have seen a fall in
the number of incidents occurring in the county. This new
legislation gives us even more tools to combat this kind of crime
and will hopefully drive offending levels even lower.”
Stuart Nagler, Chair of the Police Authority, said: “The Police
Authority has campaigned for better co-ordinated efforts to tackle
metal theft. This change to stop criminal cash-in-hand activity is
warmly welcomed. This combined with the tremendous efforts of
Hertfordshire Constabulary will continue to reduce the incidence of
this despicable crime.”
For more information on the new legislation
visit:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/scrap-metal-guidance.