ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Interim Chief of Police with a Request to Adopt an ORDINANCE Amending Chapter 18 of the Code of the City of Peoria Regarding the Regulation of RECYCLABLE METALS DEALERS.
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BACKGROUND:
The City of Peoria experiences over 1,000 burglaries per year and over 2,500 thefts of property. These crimes have a negative impact in both our business and residential communities and detract from the community's perception of safety and quality of life. Many of these burglaries and thefts involve the theft of copper wire, copper alloys and air conditioner parts. As of July 2014, approximately $547,112.65 in stolen copper and AC parts have been reported to the Peoria Police Department (see attachment A). In an effort to apprehend those responsible for these crimes, the Police Department began subscribing to the metal theft portion of Leads Online, a national database used to locate and recover stolen property. With the use of this database, detectives are able to identify people who are scrapping large amounts of copper and AC parts at the point of sale, but the effectiveness of this property tracking tool is dependent upon recyclable metal dealers entering incoming scrap metal into the online system. Currently, participation in Leads Online by recyclable metal dealers has been voluntary and one of the primary reasons for the creation of this ordinance is to require all recyclable metal dealers to record their incoming property directly into the Leads Online database. The new ordinance is consistent with what the State of Illinois already requires of recyclable metals dealers (see attachment B), but specifies the use of Leads Online (see attachment C for actual Ordinance). Dealers are provided with the necessary cameras, hardware, and software at no cost.
In addition to the Leads Online requirement, this new ordinance:
* Requires the recyclable metal dealers to apply for a $150.00 licens...
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