Cracking Down on Metal Crime: The NICRP supporting the Fourth Week of Intensification
The fourth multi-agency week of intensification, supported by the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership’s highlights the ongoing effort to tackle criminality and non-compliance within the metal and vehicle recycling sectors. This coordinated activity, involving British Transport Police, Home Office forces, environmental agencies, local authorities, and industry partners, has produced significant results. As part of this initiative, Robin Edwards, a leading consultant and owner of ONIS Consulting, has played a central role in supporting enforcement agencies and industry stakeholders, bringing years of experience advising on compliance and criminal disruption strategies.
The ongoing activities of the NICRP and our partners to target those involved in criminal behaviour, and no compliance continues with our fourth multi-agency week of intensification.
At the beginning of March, our partners from British Transport Police, Home Office forces, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, Environmental agencies, local authorities and industry all worked together to tackle criminality in the metal and vehicle recycling sector. This activity included scrap metal dealers, end-of-life vehicle dismantlers, vehicle breakers, and mobile collectors.
Previous weeks of action made a huge impact on crime in the UK, and we saw a 50% reduction in catalytic converter thefts following the targeting of those involved in criminality and a national catalytic converter marking programme focusing on the most at-risk vehicles. We have always tried to avoid being complacent regarding metal crime; however, we know that criminals will look to exploit any opportunity, so the decision to hold a further week of intensification hammered home the message that we are looking closely at their activities.
Although the figures are not fully in yet, during the week of intensification, British Transport Police visited over 100 scrap metal and end-of-life vehicle Dealers, 10 vehicle dismantlers, six Catalytic converter buyers and 45 mobile collectors were inspected. These resulted in two arrests, one modern-day slavery investigation, one animal neglect case, eight vehicles seized, three illegal sites identified and 16 sites identified as breaching licensing conditions. They also identified and recovered material from multiple sites that were in possession of suspected stolen cable from several infrastructure companies. I anticipate the list will grow considerably when all the results are in from the participating agencies.
Although these figures go some way to identifying the scale of the problem, it is important to understand the level of non-compliance and criminality that exists within sections of the sector. A good example of this was identified during a visit to a medium-sized yard during this week of intensification that dealt with ELVs and scrap metal.
The site visited was checked along with the collectors who turned up to sell their material. Seven mobile collectors were spoken to about their Scrap Metal Licences, Waste Carier Licences, record keeping and vehicle compliance. Out of the seven collectors spoken to, not one of them possessed a Scrap Metal Collectors Licence; in fact, it’s fair to say the level of ignorance concerning the requirement to hold a licence was quite shocking. None of them were in possession of any records of any sort as required by the legislation, and it was the same story when it came to their Waste carriers’ licences. These collectors were operating completely off the radar, and they were all driving enclosed vans, making it difficult to identify what they were doing, which was, in my opinion, a way of keeping away unwanted attention from enforcement agencies.
What was really concerning was the lack of vehicle insurance. Five of the seven vehicles inspected were seized for either not having any insurance or holding incorrect insurance. This situation is clearly unacceptable, and it leaves those who are being fully compliant at a disadvantage. It’s extremely difficult to compete against those not meeting the minimum standards required to be a collector when they are not paying the correct fees and taxes, have no insurance, and are not maintaining the correct records. How many of these collectors are registered with HMRC or potentially claiming state benefits? Neither are acceptable, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure their details are shared with the appropriate agencies.
I appreciate it’s quite a challenge for sites to ensure that these individuals are compliant, but I don’t doubt that if they faced direct competition from a non-compliant site, they would be inclined to seek or encourage action against them. I believe there needs to be a greater level of scrutiny from the buyers in relation to the sellers. It may require a legislative change, but something needs to change. It’s not acceptable to say, ‘It’s not my responsibility to check them.’ I disagree; I believe it is the buyer’s responsibility morally and legally.
I suspect this situation is reflected across the sector with those that collect end-of-life vehicles, or in some cases just pick them up off the side of the road and sell them before the owner realises they have been removed. How many buyers of end-of-life vehicles carry out any due diligence in terms of the source of the vehicle they buy? Again, I appreciate that the system of dealing with ELVs isn’t really fit for purpose, and I’m sure this will form part of a larger piece of work to make it much more difficult to sell the vehicle without the correct documentation or without proving they have the right to sell a vehicle.
During the week of intensification, both scrap and end-of-life vehicle sites were visited, and at each site I personally visited, there were issues in relation to recording the correct details of those selling scrap metal or vehicles. This really isn’t acceptable after 11 years of the act being in place, and the days of being told, ‘next time we visit, we expect you to be compliant’ are over, and the focus now is on prosecution for clear breaches of the legislation. This could have a serious impact on those who choose to ignore the requirements of the legislation. One of the outcomes could be to influence future licensing decisions from local authorities, but not in a positive way.
From my perspective, we have made a significant amount of progress, but there is still a long way to go. We need to ensure the legislation, either environmental or in relation to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 (SMDA), is fully complied with, and we need to make it quite clear to those who operate in the sector, that noncompliance will result in prosecution if they choose to ignore their responsibilities under the law. There is still a lot to do when it comes to enforcement, and education is a key element of that process.
I have trained almost 3500 police and enforcement personnel since the beginning of 2021, and I will continue to deliver the training across the UK and provide forces and our partners with the skills and confidence to deal effectively with non-compliance and criminality in the sector. There is still a great deal to do as I have outlined, but we are making progress, which should go some way to reassuring those who are compliant that we are doing something to tackle this unacceptable behaviour. We will not shy away from acting against those who are not willing to comply with the legislation, are willing to turn a blind eye to what passes through their gates or just don’t believe they are required to comply with the law.
The sector has a role to play in the process of identifying those who undermine the legitimate traders who are fully compliant. This is their opportunity to help us single out those individuals or businesses who choose not to be compliant or don’t believe they are bound by the same legislation as the rest of the sector.
About Robin Edwards
Robin Edwards is acknowledged as an expert in his field, having gained a wealth of experience in relation to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 and metal crime. Robin was the National Project Lead for Operation Tornado, 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 are recognised internationally.
