Six months after a South Carolina law took effect requiring permits to buy and sell metals, incidents of stolen copper remain high in Greenville County. Since August, more than 6,000 permits have been issued, according to Lt. Michael Hildebrand, with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. Still, Hildebrand says, it does not appear to have deterred the crime. "It is not what we hoped for," he says. "When you heard initially there was going to be a permit, and everyone that was buying or selling copper had to have one, we were optimistic and hoped it would drastically cut down on the thefts we were having."
Instead, numbers have remained steady, and in some months, are even higher than they were prior to the permit law taking place. The Sheriff's Office has investigated more than 130 copper cases since August.
Sam Leppard, owner of Quality Lube in Greenville, is one of those victims. "We were hit three times in a little more than a month," Leppard says. The thieves got his air conditioning unit, and broke through a fence to steal spare metal behind his shop. "We come in that morning, and it was hot in the building and we knew something was wrong," Leppard says. "A thief is a thief, and he's going to get what he wants."
One problem, according to Hildebrand, is that the law few, if any, restrictions. Even a person who has stolen copper before can apply for the piece of paper. "If someone is sitting in front of you that has been convicted of stealing copper before, you cannot deny them that permit," he says.
Seven on your Side took the problem to State Senator David Thomas. Thomas supported the legislation, and admits there may be glaring problems. "Quite frankly, until Channel 7 brough this to my attention, I did not know." Seven on Your Side wanted to know: is the law really working, and what more can be done? Thomas says, "If we revisit the law, this ought to be included certainly. Once you're caught with that kind of theft, you've lost your privilege to ever sell copper again."
Leppard says it would help, but wonders if the clever crooks can really be stopped. "They'll figure out ways to beat it," he says.
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