Scrap metal sellers could be required to provide photo ID, thumbprint

Sometime around 4 a.m. July 26, thieves climbed the walls of four office buildings in Santa Fe Springs and stripped large air-conditioning units of their copper wires, insulation and fans. One of the buildings hit: the sheriff's Commercial Crimes Bureau.

Detectives discovered the crime the next work day when the air conditioning didn't work. They were still without air conditioning last week, and officials estimate it will cost the building's private owner up to $60,000 to repair the units. The stolen parts probably will sell for hundreds of dollars at a junkyard.

"This form of theft not only creates a public safety issue, but it also has severe cost implications for the businesses that bear the burden," Baca said in a letter to state legislators asking for help on the problem.

State Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) and Assemblyman Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) have written identical bills pending in the state Legislature that would require those selling metals to recycling yards to provide their thumbprint and photo identification and wait three days before they are paid by check.

The bills -- which would apply to "nonferrous material," including copper, stainless steel and aluminum -- would fine junk dealers who fail to collect and maintain records $1,000 for the first offense and $4,000 for the third and subsequent offenses. In addition, a junkyard with three or more offenses could be ordered by a court to stop doing business for a year.

Throughout the state -- the Inland Empire, suburban housing tracts, farms, the streets of urban Los Angeles -- thieves are stealing manhole covers, gardening tools, bicycles, nuts and bolts from hydrants, freeway signs, agricultural equipment, and traffic signal wiring because the price of metals has gone through the roof in recent years.

"We recognize the seriousness of the issue is evolving from an expensive nuisance to a public safety nightmare," Calderon said. "Street lights are being disabled . . . People are being electrocuted by trying to get live wire. Guardrails are being removed from freeways."

Copper that sold for 90 cents a pound a few years ago has recently garnered up to $4 a pound, said Jonathan Manhan, who owns the BCS Recycling Specialists business in Canoga Park. Steel has gone from $100 a ton in 1990 to as high as $700 a ton, he said.