Metal theft in the United Kingdom
Metal theft in the United Kingdom is the systematic and organised theft of high-value metal (mostly copper) in the United Kingdom.
History
Metal theft in the UK is largely the responsibility of the British Transport Police (BTP). Metal recycling traders can be traced by Trading Standards, regulated by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.[1] Most metal theft in the UK is classed as non-domestic burglary.
In the year to March 2016, according to the ONS, there were 16,155 metal theft offences across the UK's 42 police forces, a significant decrease of 38% over the previous year.[2] In England and Wales there were 3 metal theft offences per 10,000 population. North East England has the highest rate of metal theft - 7 per 10,000 population. Information on metal theft is available at the Home Office Data Hub, run on CKAN (created by the Open Knowledge International at the University of Cambridge).
Price of copper
In 2006, the price of copper significantly increased by three times, and the spates of copper theft from railway signaling increased significantly. Operation Tremor was implemented by the BTP and Network Rail to counteract the spates of theft.
Sources of metal
Electricity substations
Copper conductor has been taken from electricity substations.
Church roofs
Church roofs have been stripped of the lead roof, forcing some into near bankruptcy. Replacing church roofs is prohibitively expensive.
Railway signalling cables
Copper cable for signalling alongside railway lines has been removed, known as cable theft.
Telephone cables
Telephone communication cables are made of copper, and some villages have been completely disconnected from the BT telephone network by thieves.
Prevention
Metal recycling in the UK is largely regulated by the British Metals Recycling Association trade association.