The department has seen more than 200 metal thefts reported since the start of the year.
“It’s a problem nationwide but older cities with more vacant homes may be a larger target,” Fischer said. “People will steal anything: ladders, lights, utility lines.”
Fischer said Hamilton combats the problem from a number of angles, including communicating with other police departments, scrap metal yards in the county, and city officials on possible ordinances to reduce thefts.
Scrap metal thefts reported to Middletown police dipped in 2009, but is back on the rise as the economy continues to suffer and the price of certain metals rise.
According to Lt. Scott Reeve, in 2008, 260 scrap metal thefts were reported; in 2009, 120 thefts; and in 2010, 197. In the first five months of this year, 136 reports have been taken.
On Wednesday, Detective Mark Specht caught two thieves in the act while they removed metal from a vacant business on Tytus Avenue. Specht was in an unmarked car when he observed a vehicle pull up to the building.
“They were taking stuff out and loading it into a truck,” Specht said. The men fled in the truck with the detective and a patrol car giving chase all the way to Franklin where the men jumped out and were apprehended after a foot chase.
The suspects, Chad Jones, 30 and Timothy Plants, 28, are charged with breaking and entering. Specht said they admitted to taking more scrap metal from the former trucking business earlier in the day.
Chapter 4737 of the Ohio Revised Code states that scrap yard dealers must record the name, description and residence of the person exchanging scrap, the items exchanged, the day and time, and a copy of the person’s identification card.
Fischer said before the law was updated in 2008, Hamilton Scrap Processors, owned by Neil Cohen, was voluntarily collecting the information to assist police. Through the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries website, Fischer said police post specific stolen items for scrap yards to watch out for. As well, a list of suspect individuals is given to scrap yards.
“Our buying operation is more important than our selling,” Cohen said. “We have to get material or we’re out of business. Some is stolen but most probably is not stolen.”
Specht and Reeve said Middletown area scrap yard dealers are cooperative with police if they get people trying to sell items believed to be stolen.
Joey Bonno, of Strum Electric, who is a foreman for a construction site on Innovation Drive, reported more that $4,000 worth of copper wiring stolen over the Memorial Day weekend.
He said it took someone organized, with a truck, who knew what they were doing to load up the big spools, which were chained down.
“Usually the company just turns it into insurance,” Bonno said. Police are doing more patrols, but few companies can afford a 24-hour guard, he said.
To get top dollar for copper, the wire has to be stripped, even an aluminum coating is difficult to remove, Bonno said.
“It’s time consuming and tedious and hard on your hands,” he said. “But with the economy the way it is, it’s worth it to people.”
Cohen said it’s difficult to identify stolen scrap because it usually arrives mangled and looks the same. Cohen said when something does look suspicious the customer is delayed and police are called.
“We’ve developed a relationship with junk yards,” Fischer said. “Very often they will call me if something doesn’t look right.”
Cohen said his scrap yard won’t accept metals if the customer doesn’t have a government-issued photo identification card. All successful transactions are recorded on tickets for up to two years, Cohen said.
Cohen said copper is the most valuable metal his company buys at $1.50 per pound.
“People steal for different reasons; we’re not here to judge whether it’s to feed your family or a dark habit,” Cohen said.
Dorothy Kennedy of Hamilton has several rental properties in the city. One in particular on See Avenue has been broken into four times in June within two weeks.
“It’s been real bad,” said Kennedy who spent $9,000 recently on repairs.
Kennedy had an air conditioning unit, copper piping, and water meter stolen from the home. She said the thieves came back just days after the first break-in to remove the larger pipes with saws. Kennedy had to replace the floor, wall, and shower.
“There’s not much you can do,” Kennedy said. “You can put up lights but that just makes it easier for them to see.”
Fischer advises residents and property owners to make homes look “lived in” by using curtains and lights. As well, bright-colored paint marks on pipes can help distinguish pipes if stolen.
Phil Morrical III of Morrical Realty on Ludlow Street said his realty company tries to discourage robbers by using signage, lighting, and extra security.
Morrical said he’s spent thousands to have copper plumbing, water meters, and air conditioners replaced. He said the high cost of repairs affects homeowners insurance rates.
“Sometimes we just eat it and pay,” Morrical said. “I don’t want a history of claims and then something big happen.”
Morrical said he will often opt to pay for utilities so he can use motion sensor lighting to dissuade thefts. He’s also installed high fencing around newer air conditioning units and uses signs reading, “This house has no copper piping.”
“It’s just an extra expense,” Morrical said of security precautions.
Butler County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Craft said since Jan. 1, 32 scrap metal thefts have been reported. While the department does not track scrap theft reports from year to year, Craft said the first half of the year has had a significant number.
“More and more, we are seeing thefts of catalytic converters, copper pipes, copper wire, aluminum siding, and just about anything else that can be converted into a quick buck, and it appears most of this stuff is sold as scrap,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. “If we can somehow make the scrap dealers more accountable for who they do business with, maybe some of these thefts will stop. This is not just a Butler County problem, it’s everywhere.”
One of those thefts is $3,000 worth of copper ground wires taken from a Duke Energy substation on Millikin Road in Liberty Twp. on June 7.
A Duke Energy site in Middletown was also the scene of a theft last month in which a fence was cut and 60 to 70 feet of ground copper was stolen, according to police.
“In the past year we have spent a tremendous amount of time on investigation,” Craft said. “We are doing some proactive things and we feel like it is making a difference.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2179 or hpoturalski@coxohio.com.
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