Copper and metal theft have been an issue in Prince George in the past year, with wire theft from street lights resulting in $25,000 in repair costs in February and a recent spree of thefts marking a 68 per cent increase in copper cable thefts experienced by Telus this month.
One of those concerned locally is MLA Rosayn Bird, who told The Citizen what some of the challenges are around this type of theft.
“My suspicion is that the individuals who are participating in this type of theft are not individuals that the Crown would be overly excited about pursuing anyway regarding charges,” said Bird. “Because they’re grossly disenfranchised in one way or another. Individuals who are suffering from mental health and addictions. This is their mechanism of supporting either themselves, their housing, their groceries or their habits.
“I think there are lots of challenges around this. My biggest concern is that I have elderly constituents who lose their ability to be able to call or get a hold of people and they don’t understand why and it wouldn’t even be their first thought. It wouldn’t be my first thought. Quite honestly, if I got up in the morning and my landline wasn’t working, it would never have occurred to me that somebody stole the copper. To be honest, it wouldn’t even go there. So I do think it’s an issue.”
She added that community involvement is important to fight back against thieves like these.
“How we balance it and how we fix it, that is more problematic,” said Bird. “I think it’s just like you guys already indicated in the article that you wrote, I think it’s a community commitment. So I think people need to be vigilant and observant. And when they see people doing things that don’t look right or appear inappropriate, they probably are. And that should be reported.”
While these thefts are concerning, many in the city are noting how difficult it is for these stolen materials to be sold back to metal recyclers in the Prince George area.
The Metal Recycling Act, which was put into place in 2012 due to concerns over an increase in metal theft, prohibits the purchase of regulated metal unless the seller provides their driver’s licence, BC Identification Card or BC Service Card.
The act also prevents sellers of metals from receiving over $50 in cash, with the rest required to be paid out using cheques or e-transfers. Some sellers in Prince George do not have cash on the premises at all and require a bank account for payouts.
Even more so, most metal recyclers in Prince George will refuse purchases unless the seller arrives in a vehicle, which will then have its licence plate entered into the system.
Metal recyclers are also told to keep a keen eye out for stolen items, keep lists of materials and items that were recently stolen, and inform the RCMP and refuse sales if they come into contact with those items.
These businesses also work closely with the RCMP and note down data on daily items that were purchased and information on the seller, which is then sent to the RCMP.
While it is very difficult to determine the origins of copper wiring and other copper materials when stripped, metal recyclers do have a few ways to determine origins.
Many criminals use fire to burn away insulation from stripped wires or cables, which means that most metal recyclers in town will refuse the sale of burned materials regardless of origin.
City manager of bylaw services Kent MacNeill spoke on how his office and the RCMP can better coordinate to fight back against this issue.
“I think that we need to work even more closely with the RCMP,” said MacNeill. “And I think that’s something we want to start working together more on, under that rapid system in which the metal recyclers are to be reporting to the RCMP. I think we can both pay closer attention to those things and make sure that the businesses that are buying these types of metals are abiding by the rules.”
“We’ve met recently with Craig Douglas, who is in charge at the Community Policing Unit of the RCMP, and we’ve had an initial meeting about just working more collaboratively to make sure that enforcement is there. What we’re going to do is have future meetings here in the coming weeks and months and come up with a plan as to how to best tackle it, with inspections and those sorts of things, and make sure to ensure compliance.”
ABC Recycling in Prince George spoke with The Citizen and went into more detail when it comes to how the company prevents theft.
“When we receive reports, I make sure all my guys know everyone in the yard is to look for them,” said scale operator at ABC Recycling Alex Adam. “When that antique brass horn went missing, we got phone calls immediately that day. I still have the note on my wall, I’ve got a list of trucks to look out for, because we all talk to each other. We get reports of this vehicle with this licence plate and this description has been caught stealing. If you see them, you know, take the metal but don’t pay them.
“We have occasionally taken the metal and paid them, but they’re never allowed back, or we’ll get the money back later as it’ll be an insurance claim at that point. Honestly, sometimes there’s just not much we can do. We try to watch for the high-ticket items, and if someone has never been here before and brings us like five tons of copper, we’re going to ask more questions.”
One problem that some metal recyclers in town face is people stealing from their yards themselves and then reselling to third parties.
Geoff Salton, the regional manager of Richmond Steel Recycling, told The Citizen about some incidents that he has had at his yard over the years.
“I have caught people in the back as well and called the police and had the police come out and attend,” said Salton. “We’ve had our warehouse broken into once last year. I’d say, oddly enough, this has been a quieter year for us. I don’t know if it’s just where we are geographically. We’re out in the BCR industrial area, so we’re kind of away from downtown.”
Salton also noted how, with such strict policies, he believes that many thieves need to deal with outside contacts.
“It would be difficult if everybody played by the rules,” said Salton. “And you don’t know if everybody else is playing by the rules. I’ve got my own ethics that I have to go to bed with every night. I just try to do the right thing and not perpetuate the problem. There are guys who will come through town to buy, say, stolen catalytic converters. Everybody seems to have a contact if you’re in that world of theft. I think they’re pretty enterprising at what they can do to try to sell their copper for money.”
