New law in Wisconsin gives police tools to fight scrap metal thieves

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Mar 13, 2008 by Paul Snyder

Wisconsin's scrap yards will need an ID with that scrap metal from now on.

Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday signed a bill to cut down on scrap metal thefts by requiring that dealers at scrap yards try harder to document sellers' personal information.

With the new law, scrap metal dealers are required to obtain photographic identification from the seller or deliverer, record the identification and license plate numbers in an on-site ledger, and provide photographic or video images showing the seller's or deliverer's vehicle and license plate.

"It's not a panacea," said Sen. Jeff Plale, the South Milwaukee Democrat who authored the bill. "But it's a step in the right direction. Something's always better than nothing."

The catalyst for the bill came from reports of stolen copper wires from We Energies substations, Plale said, and even the theft of copper rain gutters from Plale's parish.

"With the price of copper and other metals these days, it's just a huge problem," he said. "And it's not just copper wire. Even manhole covers are being taken in.

"We had to give cops some way to get after these guys."

Rep. Phil Montgomery, the Green Bay Republican who was the bill's chief Assembly sponsor, said the state Legislature needs to do more work to strengthen the bill.

"Criminals never stop," he said. "They'll always be innovative, and they'll figure out ways to get around this. We'll just have to look at what we get right with this bill and build on that."

Now it's up to police to carry out the law, said Eric Larsen, deputy chief in the Eau Claire Police Department's detective division.

"It means local governments can set up the ordinances that allow for electronic monitoring and reporting," he said. "But it could take some time for local governments and law enforcement to catch up. This isn't something that's going to take hold everywhere overnight. It could take a couple years yet."

Eau Claire saw an estimated $59,000 worth of scrap metal stolen in 2006, and Larsen said a rash of construction site thefts occurred at the end of 2007. He said he supported the bill because a similar monitoring system that was set up for pawn brokers around Eau Claire a few years ago produced positive results.

"The first year it was in place, we saw a 33 percent decrease in auto theft cases," he said. "The year after that it was down another 10 percent. The experience showed us what can happen when you start looking harder at what's coming in and who's bringing it in."

The easiest way for police and scrap yards to keep the information they obtain in an easy-to-access loop, Larsen said, is to contract with local databases. For its pawn broker monitoring, the Eau Claire Police Department contracted with the Minneapolis Automated Pawn System, which charges $1 per transaction.

"It puts all the necessary information right there for you," he said.

The costs for police to get involved with an electronic monitoring system aren't so great that they'd keep departments from strongly enforcing the law, Larsen said, but opting not to go electronic could be costly.

"If you're just dealing with paperwork," he said, "it doesn't allow for you to be as proactive as you could electronically."