Five London scrap yards charged in bylaw crackdown

The City of London has cracked down on scrap yards that buy products without asking for ID and fuel the illegal sale of stolen goods. 

Five salvage yards were charged in January during a bylaw blitz, said city officials. Infractions included accepting scrap metal without verifying identification, failing to keep transaction records and operating without a business licence. 

"By-law regulations are in place for a reason, and we need to address this criminal activity from a variety of fronts, including eliminating the opportunity for quick cash sale," said Orest Katolyk, the city's chief bylaw officer. 

London police said there was a spike in thefts of catalytic converters in November 2019, with thieves targeting vehicles in parking lots in the downtown core. 

A catalytic converter is needed for a car to run properly and can be sold for cash to scrap yards. It costs up to $2,000 to replace one. 

"The London Police Service sees periodic increases in reports of metal theft, particularly of catalytic converters," said Staff Sgt. Alex Krygsman, head of the community policing.

"The verification of identity and keeping of transaction records by businesses when someone is selling these types of goods is an important deterrent; if criminals can't make money from a stolen item, they are much less likely to steal it."

Officials say regulations such as verifying the identification of the seller and maintaining a log of products purchased are in place to aid "crime suppression."