By Cristina Janney
Newton Kansan
As the price of metal increases, so have metal thefts in Harvey County and the surrounding area.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said he has seen an increase in metal thefts.
There were a couple instances in the county in which thieves pulled copper wire from irrigation systems.
In another incident in June, a thief removed a pipe fitting from an oil tank, which resulted in a large oil spill.
The spill cost more than $30,000 in clean-up costs and damages, Walton said.
“They might cause $30,000 in damages for $5 worth of metal,” Walton said.
In all, four sites in Harvey and Butler counties had similar metal thefts.
The Harvey County Sheriff’s Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the cases, but no arrests have been made.
Walton said metal thieves are difficult to catch.
Unless fittings are stamped with the owner’s name, it is difficult to prove where they came from.
“We need observant neighbors,” Walton said. “You need to watch out for your neighbors, and if you see something suspicious in the area, call 911.”
Paul Welsh, owner of Auto Casting Recovery in Newton, is also doing his part to curb metal thefts.
He said he requires ID on any metal scrap sales larger than $50 and will only pay by check on these sales.
Welsh said he sometimes refuses to purchase material if he thinks the seller has come by the metal illegally.
In Wichita, tougher rules on scrap sales have been put in place. ID is now required on smaller sales.
Since the regulations were toughen in Wichita, Welsh said he has been getting more calls about metal sales.
Wichita now requires all sellers to present a photo ID or give a thumbprint, sign an affidavit confirming where the scrap came from, require dealers to maintain records and turn those records over to law enforcement if requested.
“Actually in Newton, we haven’t had much problem,” Welsh said of metal thefts. “We screen everything that comes in. If we see something with the city of Newton on it, we won’t buy it. With copper, we know about how much it is reasonable for an individual to have.”
Welsh said he thinks the thefts in part have been driven by increases in the prices of metal. All metal prices have been on the increase, but copper and brass are especially high. Copper is more than $2 per pound, and brass scrap is running between 55 cents and $1.10 per pound.
“It all has been up,” he said. “The increase in the price of metals seem to be in direct relationship to the price of other commodities. Steel has advanced in price too.”
Most of the cooper Welsh said he gets comes from old cooper wire or copper tubing.
Welsh also echoed the importance of residents watching out for suspicious activity. He said some thieves steal the cooper from electric lines. This can be costly to Westar or the owners of the lines.
“If you see someone messing around a power pole, and they don’t have a Westar hard-hat on or are driving a Westar truck, call 911. They have no business around them,” he said.
Welsh said some electric companies are replacing cooper wire with copper-clad steel. This has less scrap value, and he said he hopes this also eventually will deter thieves.
Thieves also will target abandoned buildings for the metal in the air-conditioning units and the copper wiring, Welsh said. He said to watch for marked service trucks.
If someone seems suspicious, call 911, he said.
“We can stop a lot of this, if people pay attention,” Welsh said.
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By Cristina Janney
Newton Kansan
As the price of metal increases, so have metal thefts in Harvey County and the surrounding area.
Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said he has seen an increase in metal thefts.
There were a couple instances in the county in which thieves pulled copper wire from irrigation systems.
In another incident in June, a thief removed a pipe fitting from an oil tank, which resulted in a large oil spill.
The spill cost more than $30,000 in clean-up costs and damages, Walton said.
“They might cause $30,000 in damages for $5 worth of metal,” Walton said.
In all, four sites in Harvey and Butler counties had similar metal thefts.
The Harvey County Sheriff’s Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the cases, but no arrests have been made.
Walton said metal thieves are difficult to catch.
Unless fittings are stamped with the owner’s name, it is difficult to prove where they came from.
“We need observant neighbors,” Walton said. “You need to watch out for your neighbors, and if you see something suspicious in the area, call 911.”
Paul Welsh, owner of Auto Casting Recovery in Newton, is also doing his part to curb metal thefts.
He said he requires ID on any metal scrap sales larger than $50 and will only pay by check on these sales.
Welsh said he sometimes refuses to purchase material if he thinks the seller has come by the metal illegally.
In Wichita, tougher rules on scrap sales have been put in place. ID is now required on smaller sales.
Since the regulations were toughen in Wichita, Welsh said he has been getting more calls about metal sales.
Wichita now requires all sellers to present a photo ID or give a thumbprint, sign an affidavit confirming where the scrap came from, require dealers to maintain records and turn those records over to law enforcement if requested.
“Actually in Newton, we haven’t had much problem,” Welsh said of metal thefts. “We screen everything that comes in. If we see something with the city of Newton on it, we won’t buy it. With copper, we know about how much it is reasonable for an individual to have.”
Welsh said he thinks the thefts in part have been driven by increases in the prices of metal. All metal prices have been on the increase, but copper and brass are especially high. Copper is more than $2 per pound, and brass scrap is running between 55 cents and $1.10 per pound.
“It all has been up,” he said. “The increase in the price of metals seem to be in direct relationship to the price of other commodities. Steel has advanced in price too.”
Most of the cooper Welsh said he gets comes from old cooper wire or copper tubing.
Welsh also echoed the importance of residents watching out for suspicious activity. He said some thieves steal the cooper from electric lines. This can be costly to Westar or the owners of the lines.
“If you see someone messing around a power pole, and they don’t have a Westar hard-hat on or are driving a Westar truck, call 911. They have no business around them,” he said.
Welsh said some electric companies are replacing cooper wire with copper-clad steel. This has less scrap value, and he said he hopes this also eventually will deter thieves.
Thieves also will target abandoned buildings for the metal in the air-conditioning units and the copper wiring, Welsh said. He said to watch for marked service trucks.
If someone seems suspicious, call 911, he said.
“We can stop a lot of this, if people pay attention,” Welsh said.
