Just over 80 people were arrested in Los Angeles last month for stealing copper wires. The arrests were made as the result of a special task force drawn up to deal with what has been described as a “growing epidemic.”
As part of the crackdown on such stealing, more than 2,000 pounds of copper wire, along with any number of bolt cutters, saws, and drills, has been retrieved in the City of Angels.
“Copper wire theft has been a plague in our city with criminals targeting our essential infrastructure,” Los Angeles city council member Kevin de Leon was quoted as remarking in the Los Angeles Times.
The criminals have only naturally targeted construction sites but have also stripped what they could from existing buildings, noted de Leon, who characterized such acts as a “mark of shame on our communities, and disrespects the memories and legacies of those who came before us.”
Thieves like copper wire because it’s an expensive item that they can sell at scrap yards. The wires are also stolen from utility poles and cables, with those cables heated to the point of melting in order to retrieve the wiring.
“This is a really challenging thing to deal with because it’s not a traditional form of crime that most people understand,” Ben Stickle, a criminologist with Middle Tennessee State University, told the Washington Times.
One of the biggest problems, according to Stickle, is understanding how the black market for copper wires works, how drug addicts are frequently recruited to do the dirty work, and just how clever the operators can be.
Example: last year in a suburb of Philadelphia a group that everyone thought was putting up fliers for missing children was in fact chopping off the wires from utility poles.
According to statistics, more than 970,000 feet of wiring has been recovered in metro Las Vegas since 2022. In St. Paul, Minnesota, reports the New York Times, one thief admitted to collecting more than $12,000 from recyclers during a two-month period.
In April, the Albuquerque City Police arrested a man who was accused of stealing more than $50,000 in copper wiring; while Denver’s Regional Transportation District reported at least five instances in one week of services being impacted due to copper wire stolen from rail crossings, switchings, and track signals.
Law enforcement officials say construction companies can decrease incidences of copper wire stealing by installing site perimeter fencing and lighting, as well as increasing security patrols.
Other suggestions include the use of clamping mechanisms for underground systems that prevent the wire from being pulled out of a baseplate. Several states have allowed for the setting up of “real-time communication systems,” making it possible for law enforcement officials to immediately alert scrap yards when a theft has occurred.
Some cities have also talked about labeling wires as city property, while in Minnesota members of the state legislature this spring passed a law requiring that anyone buying or selling such wiring must have a license.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay