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GLADSTONE -- According to the Hannahville Tribal Police Department, scrap metal thefts are on the rise.  They investigate six to a dozen scrap metal theft cases every year.  And depending on the amount that's taken, it can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Aluminum, steel, iron, and copper are the most common types of scrap metal, and copper is the one that's frequently targeted by thieves.  An Escanaba scrap yard said depending on the type of copper, it can go from sixty cents to $2.25 a pound.

In 2009, Alger Delta Electric in Gladstone had two copper thefts eight months apart. The thieves allegedly cut through the fence and stole hand-coils of copper; one coil was recovered.  The value of the copper taken both times was about $500 combined.

Now the utility company has put up barbed wire and increased their vigilance.

“You know, in the past,” explained Tom Harrell, General Manager of Alger Delta Electric, "we could take materials out to the job sites and leave them there, and we had a high degree of belief that they would be there the next day, but we don't do that anymore."

A third theft took place when the work crew was in Hannahville.

Police say they've also investigated cases where vehicle wheels were being stolen for scrap.  The last scrap metal arrest Tribal Police made was just this month.

Lieutenant Kim Pepin of the Hannahville Tribal Police, said businesses, farms, and residential areas should take precautions.

“You need to light up the area,” said Lt. Pepin.  “So a good motion detecting light would be a positive thing.  And consider putting good locks on.  It’s fine to put things in the car, but if your garage doesn't lock, precautions need to be upped."

But scrap yards should also be on the lookout.

“Scrap yards aren't going to know what was brought in if they're not checking those loads, because as it is currently, you pull up to those scales, you're weighed, there's someone inside a window, and then you continue on," Lt. Pepin said.

Police say scrap metal thefts have continued to rise in the last three or four years because of poor economic conditions.  They continue to work with scrap metal yards to help ensure nothing prohibited is being brought in.