Dive summary:
- Soon Oklahoma will have the strictest copper theft laws in the U.S. after angry theft victims and businessmen spoke out against repeated theft.
- Many scrap buyers in the state say the new laws include things they have already been doing for the past two years, including checking for ID, taking pictures of sellers and the items they bring in and not giving out cash for large sales.
- Scrap buyers close to state borders say the regulations will take a toll on their business and encourage other states to adopt similar regulations to raise the bar equally across the U.S.
From the article:
"There's crooks that are stealing it and there are crooks that are buying it, " said scrap metal dealer Kenneth Priest, who has reservations about the new law.
Come November, scrap metal dealers cannot pay cash for a sale in amounts more than $1,000. They must establish the identity of the seller. The law will also increases the penalty for providing false information for a log book.
Which all sounds great, but Priest says, by city ordinance, he's already been required to do all of those things for two years. ...
