Robin Edwards, owner of ONIS Consulting and consultant to Industry and Law Enforcement Agencies, discusses the impact of metal theft on the UK economy, highlighting the progress of the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership; he emphasises the need for collaborative efforts and strategic enforcement to combat this pervasive issue.
The publication of the recent All Party Parliamentary Group report into Metal Theft highlighted the extent and scale of metal theft and how this crime type impacts on the UK economy, with an estimated cost of £4.3bn since 2013. Metal crime is often overlooked and not seen as a priority to those who don’t really appreciate how much of an impact it can have on communities, our economy, and its links to organised criminality.
I fully appreciate the scale and extent of the problem we are facing in the UK currently. However, it’s not all bad news. Over the last two and a half years, we have seen the introduction of the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP), which has gone from strength to strength in the fight against metal and infrastructure crime. The membership of this partnership has now grown to over 350, and it is leading on and coordinating the fight back against those involved in this type of criminality.
The recent introduction of the End-of-life Vehicle and Scrap Metal working group has brought all the sectors together under the NICRP banner and is a big step forward in terms of bringing all the affected parties together. I see this as a real opportunity to help address some of the challenges the sectors face and provides an opportunity for us to work together to target those who undermined legitimate operators.
We are seeing criminals changing their tactics because of an increase in enforcement activity and increased scrutiny on sections of the sector. This change in tactics demonstrates that criminals are not getting it all their own way and are feeling the pressure of a more coordinated and structured approach to tackling crime. Those who try to ignore their responsibilities under the legislation are facing a greater degree of scrutiny, and this can be very costly in terms of their reputation, and the longevity of their business and can have a significant financial impact.
The lack of knowledge and the required skills to enforce the legislation is not an easy void to fill, as the sector is complex. Licenced sites are rarely, if ever, visited, and those who do visit don’t always have the knowledge and skills to identify and deal with failings.
The Metal Crime Awareness Training that I developed and deliver addresses some of this confusion and provides the participants with the knowledge and confidence to deal much more effectively with metal crime. In the last two and a half years, over 2500 individuals have received the training, which was awarded Continual Professional Development (CPD) status.
This has been a big step forward, and the training provides the knowledge and confidence they need to ensure that those covered by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act who feel it is acceptable to ignore their responsibilities and legislative obligations, turn a blind eye or openly accept illicit material are dealt with robustly.
If metal or vehicles become difficult to sell, then we know from experience that criminals will look at other opportunities. The recycling sector has a moral and legal responsibility to make it difficult for these criminals to convert stolen material into money. Unfortunately, this responsibility is not always there, allowing criminals and certain dealers to profit from theft.
The future of enforcement activity has changed, and it has changed at the right time as we need to develop long-term strategies to ensure we do not return to a position where there was very little, if any enforcement and large knowledge gaps. We need to move from responding to crime as it happens to being much more focused on prevention. The upskilling of those involved in the enforcement of the Scrap Metal Dealers legislation is fundamental in terms of reducing crime and increasing compliance, and this needs to be embedded in a long-term strategy and not a short-term reaction to current threats.
I have said many times that metal crime is a problem that is not going to go away, and I’m pleased to say we are now pulling together with shared objectives and a much clearer strategy in terms of how we tackle this problem. Although there is still a long way to go, we are making progress, which is reassuring, but should be reassuringly worrying for those who are not compliant that we are raising our response through training and partnership work. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect the sector to know who is undermining legitimate businesses, and we would welcome their input so we can tackle these illegal operators.
When I talk about partnership working, we must include the recycling sector in the equation as a more compliant and engaged sector will be better for all parties. A legally and morally compliant sector will improve the trading conditions for those who are playing by the rules and make it much harder for those who are not to operate. Together, we can make a difference.
To contact Robin, visit www.onis-consulting.co.uk or call him on 0793 0115709.
About Robin Edwards
Robin is acknowledged as an expert in his field, having gained a wealth of experience in relation to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2103 and metal crime. Robin was the National Project Lead for Operation Tornado and Operational Lead for the National Metal Theft Taskforce and was involved in the development and delivery of the 2013 Scrap Metal Dealers Act before retiring and setting up Onis Consulting, which works with enforcement and industry to tackle metal crime. Robin currently works for British Transport Police (BTP) as a subject matter expert. He was one of the founders of the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership, which he supports as a subject matter expert and trainer. He acts as an expert advisor to enforcement agencies in the UK and sits on numerous working groups. His knowledge and expertise around metal theft is recognised internationally.