WRTV news carried a story Tuesday about the ongoing research into metal theft conducted by UIndy’s Community Research Center, part of the Department of Social Sciences.

Metal theft is a crime in which the damage to victims’ buildings and vehicles typically far outweighs the value when thieves sell the material to scrap metal recyclers. The latest finding by Assistant Professor Kevin Whiteacre (pictured) and his students is that the incidence of metal theft increases with the number of scrap yards in a given community.

Results of the national study will be presented at the American Society of Criminology’s annual conference Nov. 5 in Philadelphia.

Read or watch the report