I don’t think it is quite that bad around here but it is Missouri and we are known for having a meth problem. Unfortunately just about everywhere has the same issue. Heroin is also an issue. Several of the local farm and feed stores have put their veterinary needles under lock and key because most of them started walking off when heroin came to town.
That trick of seeing if someone is home is an age-old trick. I know several people who have had this happen. The guy who was on my place had to drive through the neighbors yard to get around my locked gate so he was obviously up to no good, especially when he ran her down with his truck.
The price of metal around here for steel is around $200/ton or 10 cents per pound on a good day. It is amazing how much damage can be done for a couple dollars. A good farm gate costs around $100 but I bet they get $2-3 for it as scrap. Aluminum is around 50 cents per pound and copper is around $3. I don’t know what lead batteries are valued at but a normal car battery will bring $8-10. I usually just turn them in with the purchase of a new one as the core return fee is better than scrap.
I have taken in scrap and noticed that the scrap yard has separated some like new items from the pure junk. This included many steel fencing posts, gates, and similar fencing materials used on the farm. They were reselling it instead of sending it to the scrapper. I was needing some posts and they were being sold for $1. While this is cheap, it is a lot more than this same material would bring them as scrap metal. I wonder how much of this was taken in thefts. Why would anyone essentially throw away like new fencing materials? They have laws requiring ID on scrap metal sales but I am almost wondering if there should be a law against taking product in very good condition since it is likely stolen.