Motivations For Theft
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Scrap metal has drastically increased in price over recent years. In 2001, it sold for $77 a ton, increasing to $300/ton by 2004. In 2008, it hit nearly $500/ton. Some elected officials and law enforcement officials have concluded that many metal thefts are by drug addicts stealing metal in order to fund their addictions. Some officials believe that most of these drug-related metal thefts are caused by methamphetamine users, however, this varies by the location the metal is being stolen. Regardless of the reason, developing nations such as China, India, and South Korea are ever-fuelling the demand for it.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, however, world market prices for metals like copper, aluminium, and platinum dropped steeply. Although there is anecdotal evidence that this price decrease has led to fewer metal thefts, strong empirical research on the exact nature of relationship between commodity prices and metal thefts is still lacking. Some have argued that the "genie is out of the bottle" now and drops in commodity prices will not result in corresponding drops in thefts. In fact, it is possible that thefts may actually increase to compensate for the loss in value.
Read more about this topic: Metal Theft
Famous quotes containing the words motivations and/or theft:
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