DAY OF ACTION ON METAL THEFT
DAY OF ACTION ON METAL THEFT
Posted: May 26, 2011
South Cumbria Police joined with their Lancashire colleagues this week to take part in a ‘day of action’ against metal theft.
Officers conducted surprise visits to scrap metal dealers and carried out thorough checks to make sure that staff members were following the right procedures and only accepting metal from legitimate sources.
Stop checks were also made on vehicles in both counties, and officers seized a quantity of metal that they suspected could be stolen.
Cumbria Detective Chief Inspector Mike Forrester said: “Yesterday’s operation was really successful in gathering intelligence of potential offenders. It sent out a strong message to them and to scrap metal dealers, that metal thefts are being investigated as a priority after victims here in South Cumbria have been left with repair bills totaling £85,000.
“We teamed up with officers from neighbouring forces as part of this cross-border operation to identify offenders that travel from county to county to commit crime. An important part of our day was conducting thorough checks at local scrap metal dealers. Metal thieves need to deposit their stolen metal somewhere so dealers are important – they have a pivotal role to play in driving down the numbers of metal thefts in Cumbria by only accepting metal from legitimate sources.
“Metal theft can be a profitable business and we want communities to be confident that we are doing all we can to target these criminals. Theft of common metals such as copper piping can cause a real disruption for vital everyday services such as water, gas and electricity and can have a negative impact on local people, so we hope that members of the public will support us and come forward to report suspicious vehicles or individuals.”
Inspector Dave Vickers from Morecambe Police, said: “Morecambe and Lancaster have suffered with persistent problems with scrap metal thefts. These thefts can range from waste metal taken from skips to lead stripped from school roofs.
“It has become apparent that some criminals are coming in to the county to steal scrap metal, or are bringing stolen scrap metal from their own counties into Lancashire in an attempt to try and sell it on without being noticed.
“We hold regular operations targeting this kind of criminal activity, but this most recent operation has shown the benefit of working with neighbouring police forces to share knowledge, intelligence and expertise.”
If anybody has information about metal theft or thinks that can help police with their enquiries, they are urged to contact south Cumbria CID on 0845 33 00 247 or call Crimestoppers to provide information anonymously on 0800 555 111.
