Scrap industry recommends practices
to fight metals theft
Scrap dealers across the country face the daily
task of determining if a customer is trying to peddle stolen material
or if the transaction, like most, involves legitimate scrap. The
scrap industry has now issued a list of recommended practices to
share with scrap dealers to decrease their chances of accepting
stolen metals.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries' (ISRI)
Scrap Theft Task Force details the recommendations in a document
titled, "Recommended Practices and Procedures for Minimizing
the Risks of Purchasing Stolen Scrap Materials." The ISRI board
approved the recommendations at its recent fall meeting in Charleston,
South Carolina.
"These recommendations show the commitment
from scrap dealers to do their part to solve the scrap theft problem,"
said Shelley Padnos, vice president of Louis Padnos Iron & Metal
Co. in Holland, Michigan, who chairs the theft task force. "The
recommendations also reflect that what works in some yards may not
work in others."
Scrap dealers already employ a variety of methods
to keep from accepting stolen materials at their yards. The recommendations
serve to enhance these existing procedures. They are also intended
to allow scrap dealers to adopt the practices that are most appropriate
for their facility and have the greatest likelihood of having a
positive effect. The recommendations include:
- Build working relationships with local law enforcement.
- Get identification from the seller.
- Make payment by methods other than cash.
- Capture transactions on video surveillance.
- Prohibit certain items such as new production material or items
used only by governments and utility companies.
- Train employees to identify suspicious materials.
The recommended practices can be found at www.isri.org/TheftPractices. |
