American Notes DETROIT

Talk about rip-offs. Even the most hardened residents of Detroit's crime- ridden East Side have been stunned by the latest target of some enterprising robbers: aluminum siding. The off-the-wall trend began last year, when siding suddenly began disappearing from abandoned houses around the neighborhood. More recently, aluminum rustlers, emboldened by the local cops' relaxed attitude toward the thefts, have taken to prying off the siding from the garages of occupied homes. Even lawn chairs are no longer safe.

And what are the thieves doing with their booty? Taking advantage of a recent boom in recycling, which generates an estimated $700 million a year, by selling it to scrap dealers who lately have raised their prices. Last year in Detroit, the price of aluminum leaped from 20 cents to 45 cents per lb. "When they go to the scrapyard," fumes Detroit community activist Pat Bosch, "no questions are asked." For law-abiding citizens already beleaguered by drug- trafficking, arson and the indifference of the city administration, aluminum thievery is the last straw. "They're devastating the city," complains Sophie Sroczynski, who had siding torn from her garage: "It's almost unbearable."