Law enforcement in Linn County got at least three reports recently that thieves that had cut catalytic converters out from under from parked vehicles, two of them at boat ramps on Foster Lake, and one while it was parked at somebody's house overnight. Metal thieves evidently are getting more desperate and bold, and measures taken so far are not enough.

Nobody would steal wire, irrigation pipe, plumbing parts, fittings of railroad ties or catalytic converters if these items could not be sold as scrap. So it must still be posible even though legitimate scrap dealers have taken steps to keep track of sellers, as the law now requires.

More evidently needs to be done.

Last spring, Albany Rep. Andy Olson suggested a number of additional steps the legislature could take, such as banning cash payments for scrap metal, imposing a waiting period between sale and payment, and making metal theft a more serious crime deserving of jail time.

All those things should be done.

The alternative is for car owners who don't have a garage to sit up all night and call the cops if somebody with a hacksaw crawls under the car. That's impractical, so it's up to the legislature to act. (hh)