The National Insurance Crime Bureau says Ohio continues to lead the nation in metal thefts. More than 4 thousand claims were filed from 2011 through 2013, a third more than second-place Texas and 40 percent more than third-place California. Nearly all of the thefts from homes and businesses involved copper. More than 14 hundred claims were filed in Ohio last year, unchanged from 2012 and up from more than 12 hundred in 2011. The Ohio Insurance Institute speculates law-enforcement agencies are doing a better job of tracking such thefts. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates metal theft costs U.S. businesses 1 billion dollars a year.