The Key to Improving Relationships with Law Enforcement Depends on Communication

About three-and-a-half years ago Sgt. Robert Carson took over the Houston Police Metal Theft Unit. Houston is one of the few cities with a dedicated metal theft unit. His unit is made of the three detectives that conduct investigations, two detectives who focus on the regulatory side and investigate recycled materials facilities daily.

When he took over the unit, he didn't know a lot about the recycled materials industry. So, the first thing he did was reach out to the facilities.

"I told the yard owners that I needed help, and would they teach me about their work and the recycled materials industry," he said. "They helped me out quite a bit, along with some of the officers who have been on the unit for a while."

From Carson's time working as a patrolman, in the robbery unit, and in the gang unit, much of what he heard about recycled materials facilities wasn't good.

"There's an impression that stolen materials wind up in a recycling yard, but meeting with some of the owners, and learning more about the industry, gave me a whole different understanding from what I expected," he said.

Carson soon met Todd Foreman, ReMA's Senior Director of Law Enforcement Outreach, who asked him to serve on ReMA's Law Enforcement Advisory Council (LEAC). Comprised of law enforcement officials across the country, the mission of LEAC is to advise ReMA members and ReMA's director of law enforcement outreach on methods of preventing metals theft and assisting in building relationships with other law enforcement agencies.

Seeing how well LEAC functioned inspired Carson to set up a similar group in Houston to combat the rise of telecommunication wire theft.

"I started meeting with the folks from all the communication providers like T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Xfinity. We also included the energy companies in the group," he said. "We've had Todd come in to speak about recycling facilities as well as several owners of local metal recycling companies."

Carson's group has been pretty successful so much so that other locations have sent in people to try to replicate the group at their home bases including Dallas, Texas and Denver, Colorado.

"They wanted to get a better understanding of what we're doing, we've had a lot of success using leads online and scraptheftalert.com," Carson said. "Of course, we're not stopping theft 100%, but we've certainly put a dent in it."

According to Carson, the rise in telecommunication wire theft comes down to copper. Not only is it easy to cut from pole strips and sell it, but the price of copper has skyrocketed in the last few years.

"It's come at the heels of catalytic converter thefts. When the price of rhodium had gone up tremendously and was hovering at $30,000 an ounce that was a major cause of the spike in catalytic converter theft. So, when the price went down and copper went up, our bad guys switched gears and went to a different product."

Rules, Honesty, and Communication

When asked about ways recyclers can improve relationships with their local police departments, especially during the spike in copper thefts, Carson recommends recyclers should take time to familiarize themselves with their state laws.

"One of the biggest issues I run into is when we go out to a yard and we hear someone say, 'I didn't know that rule,'" Carson said. "Police don't want a 'gotcha' moment. We just want people to follow the rules and then when law enforcement or inspectors come to the yard just be forthright and honest."

Many state agencies on their regulatory websites have training materials that recyclers can use and complete to get up to speed about the ordinances and laws. Carson recommends that recyclers complete the training so they have a better understanding of what materials they legally can or can't accept.

"The other key is to communicate," Carson said. "Just tell us if you don't know. Reach out to your local police department and invite them into your yard. Work together with your local police department."

For any recyclers experiencing problems or have questions, Carson strongly recommends using the resources provided by ReMA.

"Reach out to Todd and to LEAC, because we reach out with our questions and concerns," he said. "If we encounter something that we haven't seen before, we call Todd and he's put together an amazing group of law enforcement officials from all over the U.S. These chiefs of police have a lot of great information, resources, and knowledge. I recommend taking full advantage of that group, they have a great knowledge base."

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash.