Chitwood: Program available to
reduce scrap-metal thefts
DAYTONA BEACH -- Copper thefts could be curbed if police could get the same online link to scrap metal dealers they have to pawnshops, at least that's the theory.
A pilot program is available to the area that would allow police to test this, Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.
"They are stealing everything," Chitwood said Thursday night at a public crime meeting. Cell-phone towers were targets in the last two-week reporting period. "And it's not just here; it's all around the country."
In the 13 months since the Daytona Beach Police Department has signed on with LeadsOnline -- a company that compiles information about pawned items and the people who pawn them -- 37 people have been arrested and more than $90,000 worth of stolen property has been recovered, Chitwood said. One murder was also cleared because police could prove the suspects were in Daytona Beach at the time, he said.
The same company is piloting a program in Houston that would do the same with scrap metal dealers, said Sgt. Billy Rhodes, of the Property Crimes Division.
Three pictures would be taken -- one of the scrap being sold, one of the seller and one of the seller's car -- and LeadsOnline would put this information in a database.
Police would be provided a "ticket" containing the name and address of the seller and the dealer and a list of the items sold, whether aluminum cans or an air conditioner, as well as the photos, Rhodes said. This allows police to work crimes backward.
The only holdup, Chitwood said, is that the city cannot sign up for it on its own.
"We can require pawnshops (in the city) to register (with LeadsOnline)," he said. "There aren't any scrap dealers in the city, but I would support anyone doing this."
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For information on LeadsOnline
visit LEADSONLINE.COM or call 800.311.2656.