Stealing steel.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

The current high demand and going price for metals such as copper and aluminum have encouraged thieves to steal wiring, piping and cables from empty homes and utility properties and sell their bounty to scrap metal dealers and recyclers.

In 2009, 25 states introduced legislation to more closely regulate scrap metal dealers and create penalties for stealing metal or purchasing stolen metal.

Indiana, for example, now requires a valuable metals dealer to photograph all sellers and to record the source of the metal. The law also removes a provision exempting valuable metal transactions under $100 from reporting requirements. Kansas passed a law that requires dealers to keep a record of a scrap metal seller's sex, date of birth, and driver's license or passport identification number.

Damaging utility property--including irrigation and water conservation property--is now a crime in Arizona. The law also prohibits purchasing a catalytic converter except by a motor vehicle repair business or recycler and prohibits purchasing certain metals altogether. Connecticut law makes the theft of equipment used to provide telecommunication services a...