It is no secret the country has gone through a period of economic distress in recent years. Because of this economic downturn, an increasing number of people have turned to stealing and re-selling scrap metal from construction sites to make ends meet, said Oxford Police Department Sgt. Jon Varley.
According to Varley, as more people find themselves unemployed they turn to stealing scrap metal and re-selling it to scrap yards.
Perpetrators enter the site before walls are put up to take the scrap metal. Since there is usually little security and few people at the construction sites, many people do not get caught, according to Varley.
In addition to being able to get more cash for this metal, metal thieves are harder to trace when they sell to scrap yards, Varley said.
This trend has not impacted Oxford as much as cities such as Cincinnati or Dayton, a fact both Varley and Miami University Police Department Lt. Ben Spilman credit to the greater population densities in those places. However, there have been incidents locally.
According to Varley the new Talawanda High School has seen incidents of metal theft, as well as at the local trailer park and vacant homes.
Spilman said the construction site of the new student center has also experienced thefts of this sort, the most recent being over winter break. In late December, copper wire was stolen from this construction site. In January, Miami officials estimated the cost to be $3,000.
Construction companies and police departments alike have responded to the rise in incidence of this crime. According to Varley, some companies are beginning to take the added cost of theft into account when giving estimates for projects.
"I feel like people should find a legitimate way to make a living besides stealing scrap metal," Miami first-year Courtney Misich said.
In order to help deter metal theft, local police departments have begun to work with construction companies to protect their sites.
"We check sites to make sure they are secure," Spilman said. "We let the crew know if it is not secure."
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Despite their efforts, metal theft has not completely stopped in Oxford.
"We try and do what we can but we can't make any guarantees," Varley said. "We can't afford to pay officers to sit and watch areas all night long."
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