Watch Live: CityNews at Six Vancouver

We can’t always know if it’s stolen: scrap metal yard owner

By

SURREY (NEWS1130) – A scrap metal yard owner says he will do his best to comply with new laws to crack down on thieves by July. But it’s sometimes impossible to determine what is actually stolen.

“On one hand, you think ‘that’s got to be stolen’ and it is not,” explains Scott Road Trading President Ernie Fleicher. But other times, “it’s all cut up and processed and you think that’s just general scrap… and the next thing you know you have the RCMP in here.”

The new laws will force scrap metal dealers to file daily reports to police.

An example of stuff that looks legit?

“A guy can steal, let’s say 300 to 400 lbs of copper piping. But if he cuts it up into small pieces… well I see that stuff all the time from plumbers!”

“If I’ve got no phone call ahead of time [from RCMP] saying ‘look, there was a theft from a plumbing supply place, be on the lookout,’ I can’t be the judge, jury and executioner, saying ‘I think you stole it,'” adds Fleicher.

He feels the justice system needs to do more to make people think twice about stealing these items, instead of focusing on punishing the industry.

“The system, unfortunately, is so tied up, that these guys go in, they get processed, they get out in an hour. They stand there before the judge and say ‘I’m struggling, I’m trying to survive.’ They’ll get a suspended sentence and two years’ probation. Told to not do it again… well they don’t care. There are no consequences,” he argues.

Fleicher believes police also need to be more proactive in contacting yards to let them know who and what they should be looking for. “We are definitely a lot more diligent, and in particular, we have thrown out what we call ‘the walk-ins.'”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today