extent of metal theft, which is important when allocating resources among different interests. To that end, the University of Indianapolis Community Research Center started the Metal Theft Project in 2008 to collect data in Indianapolis. In the first six months of 2008, we counted 1520 metal theft reports. On average, 1.5 catalytic converters were stolen daily, and aluminium siding was stolen off a house once every four days. We estimated victims lost more than $7 million in the first six months of 2008. Using National Insurance Crime Bureau data, we found that the per capita number of scrap yards in a city was the strongest predictor of metal theft rates, even stronger than crime rates generally. With data shared by the Rochester police department, Posick and associates found that metal thefts are less geographically clustered than other property crimes, which has implications for prevention. Still, the most important questions remain unanswered: What exactly is the extent of metal theft in the U.S.? Which, if any, regulations work and are most cost effective? Some data does exist and is being collected. Local law enforcement agencies are collecting statistics here and there across the country and various industry groups have conducted their own surveys or maintain limited databases for their singular purposes. Unfortunately, these data sources generally remain in their respective silos, and there seems to be very limited sharing. New data needs to be collected and shared. Institutional inertia and self-interest must be overcome if we are to understand this problem