News 12 at 6 o'clock, September 23, 2008

RICHMOND COUNTY, Ga.---Metal theft has become such a problem, Richmond County has an investigator specifically to handle it. Now the county's joining forces with other agencies to form a Metal Talk Force.

One business owner believes thieves stole parts from his company vans, and he's not the only one in just the past few days.

Metal theft has become such a problem, Richmond County has an investigator specifically for it. Now they're joining with other agencies to form a metal task force.

"Oh it's an empty feeling. A matter of minutes we're out about $10,000 or more," said business owner Pat Collins. "It's a tough thing to go through."

Collins woke up to engine trouble in five of his businesses cars Tuesday morning. The trouble was someone stole the catalytic converter out of all of them.

Aaron Clements, president of C&C Automotive, has seen two cases in just the past few days.

In one of those cases, the owner of an SUV will have to pay about $3,100 to fix it. That's a costly fix compared to the maybe $100 someone would get at a scrap yard.

It's not just car parts thieves are stealing. Air conditioners have become a big target because of the copper tubing inside.

Investigators say stealing metal in any way has become a big problem

"No one is off limits: churches, buses, homes. It doesn't matter. They're getting anything they can," said Lt. Tony Walden of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

Richmond County sees about 60 metal theft cases a month, or about two every day.

Because other counties have problems, too, they're partnering with 10 other agencies to form a metal task force.

Lt. Walden says Richmond County recycling centers receive most of the scrap, because some other counties don't even have any centers. That's why it's important for these agencies to be in contact with each other.

Six scrap yards are also part of the agency. The law enforcement agencies are encouraging them to report any suspicious activity, such as a large amount of catalytic converters or copper tubing.

They're also asking them to set aside the suspicious items, because often the evidence is destroyed before investigators can look at it.

"It's going to continue to be a problem as long as the economy is the way it is,as long as the demand is there," said Lt. Walden.

Catalytic converters can be valuable because they have precious metals in them, one being platinum, but Lt. Walden says it's so hard to get it out that many local scrap yards won't even take the part.

The main way to prevent theft of the car part is to be on the look-out, and park in a well-lit area.

Also SUVs are more of a target because there's more room to get underneath to cut the part out.