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In the past couple of years, copper has become a favorite target for crooks, but a Utah senator is trying to get a law passed that would make scrap yards more responsible.
The latest copper theft happened at a baseball field in Kearns. Whoever stole this copper really wanted it. The person had to cut into several light poles, yank the copper wire down, slice it and haul it off.
Southridge Park is a field many of his teams play ball on, and with the league's playoffs set to begin, it's a field with lights for night games. That is until someone stole the copper wires from the lights. The 20-team schedule had to be redone.
Gary Bowman, the commissioner of the Utah Mens Senior Baseball League says, "It's affect us really bad. Finding adult fields we can play on is almost impossible, especially with lights."
Copper wiring was also stolen from a light pole at a field behind the Kearns Ice Oval.
Sen. Orrin Hatch says, "It's really criminal what's going on, and we have to put a stop to it." Hatch has seen the increase in copper thefts and came up with a new plan to try and keep it from happening.
Hatch and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., filed the Copper Theft Prevention Act of 2008. It's aimed at making it harder for copper thieves to profit from their crime by making it harder for them to sell stolen metal to scrap dealers.
Under the act's provisions, scrap metal dealers would:
- Have to keep records of copper transactions, including the driver's license or other I.D. number of the seller
- Keep those records for a minimum of a year, and assist the prosecution of thieves
- Pay with a check instead of cash for transactions worth more than $250
- Face penalties of up to $10,000 for violations
Hatch said, "Sadly, copper is easily turned into cash, and a very small percentage of thieves who steal it are ever caught. That's why thieves -- often methamphetamine addicts -- have been stealing copper in every form and costing Americans hundreds of thousands of dollars in theft, damage and threats to safety."
A companion bill is moving in the House, sponsored by Representatives Bart Stupak, D-Mich, and Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.
The thinking is it would be tougher for thieves to sell the copper, which might keep them from taking it in the first place.
However, some scrap yards aren't happy, because it means more paperwork and potential fines.
Utah Metal Works Vice President Mark Lewon says federal intervention is not the answer. He points out that there's already a plan in place in Salt Lake City and its surrounding area. A group made up of companies that have been victimized, such as Qwest and Rocky Mountain Power, prosecutors, police and recyclers such as himself are working together both to prevent and crack down on copper and other scrap metal theft.
"We think that we're actually a model for the rest of the country, where they can put together similar kinds of cooperative arrangements, and it'd be better for everybody," Lewon said. "Now you have legislation that I don't think on a federal level is going to help any of the problem. You've got to do it closer to where your problem is occurring and take some steps to maybe fix it."
If the feds have any role at all to play, Lewon believes it's in beefing up the punishments in store for thieves who are caught.
"I can tell you from experience that the people that we're catching, with the laws that we have here in the state, where's the deterrent? There isn't any," he said.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
