<NEWS RELEASE>
Washington, D.C. – As part of her effort to stop dangerous metal theft crimes, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar chaired a hearing yesterday (Wednesday, July 22)of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs to examine the growing epidemic of metal theft and how to best combat metal theft crimes.
The hearing included witnesses from throughout the country, including two from Minnesota: Mona Dohman, Maple Grove Chief of Police and president of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and David Sparby of Xcel Energy in Minneapolis.
The hearing, entitled "Metal Theft: Public Hazard, Law Enforcement Challenge, examined the threat of metal theft and the challenges facing law enforcement in combating metal theft crimes. In Minnesota, there have been incidents of homes exploding from natural gas leaks caused by stolen copper pipes. There have also been cases where stolen metal has damaged critical public safety communications devices, like tornado sirens.
"Metal theft has become a serious nationwide problem with potentially dangerous and far-reaching consequences because of the threat it poses to public safety and our critical infrastructures, said Klobuchar. "We need a nationwide metal theft prevention strategy, so we can combat, prosecute and prevent metal theft crimes.
In February, Klobuchar, along with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced a bipartisan bill designed to deter thieves from a lucrative practice of stealing high-priced metal from public and private infrastructure. Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN) has cosponsored companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Between July 1999 and July 2008, the price of copper has increased fivefold. As a result, copper and other widely used metals have become prime targets for thieves who sell the metal to scrap metal dealers at a high price.
In recent years, thieves have targeted construction sites, electrical substations and transformers, power and phone lines, warehouses, retail stores like Home Depot, and vacant houses or buildings. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a report warning that copper thieves are threatening critical U.S. infrastructure.
Minnesota has passed one of the strictest laws in the country, calling on scrap metal dealers to register with the state, video-record all purchase transactions, and pay sellers by check rather than cash. The bill Klobuchar introduced with Hatch would place national recordkeeping requirements on metal dealers in order to deter copper thefts by making it more difficult for thieves to sell the stolen property.
"The vast majority of scrap metal dealers are perfectly legitimate and law abiding, said Klobuchar. "This law is designed to deter the thieves. The harder it is for metal thieves to sell the stolen goods, the less likely it is they'll steal in the first place.
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