Police hold scrap metal theft 'day of action'
Fixed penalty notices issued and warnings given in Operation Precious
A DAY of action to prevent and detect scrap metal thefts was carried out in Newbury.
Police launched Operation Precious, which ran between 9 am and 5pm on Wednesday, September 14.
The operation was supported by Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), Environment Agency (EA) and British Telecom (BT).
The day had four main aims, which were to prevent and respond to incidents of scrap metal theft, handling, and processing, where offenders had been identified, while taking reasonable steps to investigate and detect; to work in partnership with other agencies to prosecute offences relating to scrap metal dealers; to gather intelligence; and to provide reassurance through high visibility deployments.
The day was split into two parts. The morning involved vehicle check points supported by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), where vehicles were pulled into specific stop sites so that drivers' details such as insurance could be checked. VOSA also checked the vehicles and the EA spoke with drivers' reference to any scrap metal they were carrying.
Visits to, and inspections of, scrap metal premises followed in the afternoon. The level of activity varied across all police areas involved in the operation.
In Newbury, stop checks were conducted in Beenham which resulted in three fixed penalty notices being issued and one driver being reported for road traffic offences. Two sites were visited with nothing of concern to report. However, some vehicles stopped outside of the premises, attending to drop off scrap, were not licensed to do so and the drivers were warned by EA staff to apply for a Waste Carriers License or they could face prosecution.
Force crime reduction advisor Nick Gilbert said: “This is an excellent example of the kind of operations we have planned to increase the pressure on metal thieves across the Thames Valley.
“Valuable intelligence has been gained as a result of Operation Precious. Obviously, I cannot go in to detail, but what I can say is that, thanks to the assistance of other agencies such as VOSA and the EA and the cooperation of the local authorities and private companies like BT-OPEN REACH, we are firmly taking the initiative in dealing with this type of criminality and will do for years to come, so I urge anybody planning to commit crime on our area or even anyone accepting stolen metal into a yard, to think twice as we will be working very hard to catch you.”
