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Demapan seeks to curb copper wire theft
In response to the rate of copper wire theft and recent strings of incidents involving stolen candleholders at many gravesites on the island, Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan) will introduce the Scrap Metal Inspection Act of 2016 at next week’s House session that aims to address such property theft crimes by amending Public aw 15-36.
Demapan believes that strengthening requirements pertaining to purchase transactions for scrap metal will help deter the sale of stolen goods.
“Additional regulation is necessary to provide for an added layer of scrutiny before copper wire and other high-value scrap metal can be sold to a recycler,” said Demapan. “Therefore, I am proposing legislation that calls for mandatory inspection and certification of scrap metal property, with the exception of aluminum cans, prior to any purchase transaction at a recycling or scrap metal business.”
The proposed legislation will require individuals who want to sell scrap metal to first have all their items inspected and certified by the Department of Public Works. Recyclers or scrap metal businesses will be barred from purchasing scrap metal if the seller does not submit a certificate of inspection.
“Upon completion of inspection, DPW will then issue a certificate of inspection, which the individual must provide to the recycling business before any transaction may be initiated and completed,” added Demapan.
“Every item inspected will be thoroughly documented and recorded so that in any event where theft of property is reported, the DPS investigators can work with DPW to review the inventory of items that were inspected and identify who was responsible for bringing the items in for inspection.”
Demapan’s bill tasks DPW to promulgate rules and regulations to conduct inspections of scrap metal property. The legislation also provides for the sharing of information between DPW, DPS, and the Office of the Attorney General.
Through this legislation, Demapan aims to make it difficult for thieves to make money from stolen goods. Moreover, by thoroughly documenting the inspection of the items, the lawmaker added that investigators will have an additional resource to refer to when investigating related theft cases.
