The city of Wichita, Kansas, like many cities, has seen a rash of scrap metal thefts. A main reason for the jump in thefts has been the high prices for many scrap metals. Adding to the issue for the city is the fact that the city has a significant number of aviation-related manufacturing businesses in the area. These companies handle many of the higher-end scrap metals, making the metal even more valuable.
To combat the theft, the city of Wichita’s Police Department is contemplating pushing for additional regulations that would require scrap metal recyclers in the city to take extra steps to prevent stolen metal from being sold to the nine scrap yards operating in the city.
Captain Darryl Haynes, who has been very involved in investigations of metal thefts, says that the current ordinance that is on the books needs updating. While acknowledging that any such ordinance for the Wichita City Council would be months away at the earliest, he envisions the possibility of further verification of identities for people selling scrap metal to recyclers in the city.
According to local press reports, other options that are being considered are: increasing scrap metal business inspections; mandating further identification checks, including the possibility of using thumb prints; and calling for scrap yards to hold material for a longer period of time.
Sheldon Kamen, the owner of scrap yard Kamen Inc., said that a big problem is that the city does not do a very good job of enforcing existing regulations on the books. He noted that when he was on the Wichita City Council he was able to introduce and have pass legislation that required identification for anyone selling scrap that exceeded a certain dollar value. However, most of the time there was very little follow up by the police department.
While Kamen acknowledges that the regulation needs updating, he feels that without the police taking steps such as sending undercover agents to see if signatures and identifications are asked at scrap yards it is likely that thefts would be deterred.