Metal thefts, which are costing South Yorkshire businesses more than £2.5 million a year, are in the sights of a new unit, launched to cut business crime.
The Sheffield-based Business Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC) is making the reduction of metal thefts a priority target after a 39 per cent increase in the value of the thefts last year.
More than 150 businesses were hit in 2006 and that figure is ex
pected to rise this year.
The biggest single theft resulted in criminals - who have yet to be caught - getting away with £1 million worth of metal.
One factory operated by a South Yorkshire group was targeted on nine occasions in just over a year. The firm lost £30,000-worth of metals in one theft and only two of the thefts resulted in the criminals being caught. Meanwhile, a storage and distribution centre lost metal worth £43,000, excluding the costs of damage and destruction, when it was targeted by thieves three times in one month.
One major telecommunications firm has had more than £250,000-worth of copper stolen in South Yorkshire this year, and the trouble doesn’t stop there.
Thefts lead to higher insurance premiums, lost production, threats to staff safety and damage employee morale which, when combined, could mean the overall cost to a company is three times higher than the value of the stolen cable.
BCRC chief executive David Ransom said: “A major reason for this trend is the increased value of scrap metal. Prices have risen by 80 per cent this year alone and copper has recently traded at as much as £9,000 a tonne.
“Intelligence reveals organised crime groups heavily involved and business “insiders” being used. Metal theft leads on to money laundering, tax fraud and job losses – we’re talking about a multi-million pound black market.” Mr Ransom says the police are giving a low priority to metals thefts and the criminals are caught in fewer than one in ten cases.
“That’s why our experienced advisers are working closely with companies to ensure every precaution is in place against these crimes,” he adds.
The BCRC is developing self-assessment and other diagnostic tools to help companies improve security and says grants available to help some companies.
The BCRC works with South Yorkshire Police, Local Strategic Partnerships, Crime and Dis-order Reduction Partnerships and Business Link South Yorkshire .
It can be contacted by telephoning: (0114) 275 1283.
The full article contains 415 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
