“In some places the stealing of gate-hooks and iron fastnings is so common as to
compel the farmer both to hang and fasten his gates with wood.”
A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis (Colquhoun, 1795)
compel the farmer both to hang and fasten his gates with wood.”
A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis (Colquhoun, 1795)
Welcome to MetalTheft.Net, the leading resource for information and research on metal theft.
This is a growing website, which includes history and news, full-text scholarly and professional research on metal theft, interviews, prevention brochures, law enforcement initiatives concerned with the crime, and the blog "Scrapped."
See the History and News page and subscribe to the RSS Feed for historical highlights, current news, and more, or follow us on Twitter for the same updates.
This is a growing website, which includes history and news, full-text scholarly and professional research on metal theft, interviews, prevention brochures, law enforcement initiatives concerned with the crime, and the blog "Scrapped."
See the History and News page and subscribe to the RSS Feed for historical highlights, current news, and more, or follow us on Twitter for the same updates.
New to Scrapped:
"Hate Someone? Blame'em for Metal Theft"
Ideology is great. It provides easy answers to complex problems, freeing up more time for blame, hostility, and self-righteous indignation. It does not, however, move us toward the ultimate goal of creating safer communities.
Ideology is great. It provides easy answers to complex problems, freeing up more time for blame, hostility, and self-righteous indignation. It does not, however, move us toward the ultimate goal of creating safer communities.
New to the Interviews page:
An interview with cultural criminologist Jeff Ferrell, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Anthropology at TCU and author of Empire of Scrounge, which relates his journey into the "often illicit worlds of scrounging, recycling, and second-hand living."
Photo courtesy of Jeff Ferrell, 2011
Junk Dealing and Juvenile Delinquency (1919)
Coming this Spring to Scrapped: The Dodgy Dealer
The concept of the "unscrupulous scrap dealer" has proven useful for politicians, law enforcement, and the scrap industry. Focusing on a few bad apples provides an immediate, if sometimes elusive, target for efforts to limit the market for stolen metals through regulation, while also justifying opposition to or limits on regulation. But can a few dodgy dealers account for the vast quantities of stolen metals that thieves seem to be selling quite successfully? It might be time to jettison simplistic notions of good and bad dealers for an approach that recognizes more complexity and the blurred boundaries between law-abiding and complicit markets.
Documentary Film
Scrappers
Set in Chicago’s labyrinth of alleys, Scrappers is a vérité portrait of Oscar and Otis, two metal scavengers who search for a living with brains, brawn and battered pickup trucks. The 2008 financial collapse and crackdowns on undocumented immigrants jeopardize their means of providing for their families.
-Directed by Brian Ashby, Ben Kolak, and Courtney Prokopas
www.scrappersmovie.com
-Directed by Brian Ashby, Ben Kolak, and Courtney Prokopas
www.scrappersmovie.com
If you have information to share, comments, or questions, please email us at contact@metaltheft.net.
from Junk Dealing and Juvenile Delinquency (1919)
