MPs Call for Tighter Metal Theft Laws

A group of MPs has said that anyone attempting to sell scrap metal should be made to prove their identity, while the Transport Select Committee has called for the government to test a ban on cash payments for scrap in a move to fight the metal theft problem. Last year, railway cable thefts disrupted 3.8 million passengers and cost the industry over £16 million.

The scrap metal industry employs nearly 8,000 people in the UK and is worth around £5.6 billion. However there are worries about dealers who are prepared to accept metal for cash without any information about where it came from and the number of scrap metal yards that are illegal.

The transport committee says the government has to act with more urgency in order to deal with the problem. It has made several suggestions on how to do this, including: reforming the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to mandate that anyone selling metal provide identification before making a transaction; creating a new offence of aggravated trespass on rail lines to help deter cable thieves; testing the use of cashless trading in the industry to make the sale of stolen materials easier to trace; and giving more power to police to search both unregistered and registered scrap metal yards.

MPs say the scrap metal industry is a weak link in actions taken to fight cable theft, but they also call on Network Rail to make the cables harder to steal. There should be more clarity around compensation arrangements to ensure train operators don’t profit from disruptions caused by thefts. They want more information about what efforts are being made to help stranded passengers as well.

Labour MP Louise Ellman, the chairman of the committee, says that metal theft is made easy by how it can be sold to scrap metal yards. An immediate reform is needed to improve the audit trail generated by the industry so thieves selling stolen metal can be identified easier.

Rail Minister Norman Baker has welcomed the report, saying that many recommendations are already being implemented by the rail industry and government. Establishing a metal theft task force, which was announced last autumn, is already underway. They are also considering new legislation that will regulate the scrap metal industry.

Network Rail director of operational services Dyan Crowther says that they are doing everything they can to protect the network. They have invested about £2 million every year for mitigation measures, which includes using CCTV, funding additional police officers, forensic marking techniques and other technologies. Their action can help manage the crimes to an extent, but they continue to increase despite their efforts. They believe the only way to substantially reduce cable theft is to remove the illegal market and implement more police powers and robust legislation.