Areas being targeted by thieves for their copper wire are seeing complete power outages and disruptions in essential services. Tracey Leong reports for the NBC News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
The city of Los Angeles has recovered about 2,000 pounds of stolen copper wire and made dozens of arrests in connection with the thefts since launching a task force dedicated to combating the crime, officials announced Tuesday.
LA Councilmembers Traci Park and Kevin De Leon hosted a press conference to share the wins of the task force they created in January. The Heavy Metal Task Force is comprised of personnel from several police divisions under the oversight of the Central Division.
“Our message is very clear to the criminals that are stripping this city part by part -- the city of Los Angeles is no longer your ATM machine,” De Leon said.
According to the council members, 82 arrests have been made in connection with copper wire theft, including 60 felony charges. With the success of the task force, and additional $200,000 will be invested into the program.
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“The wire that is sitting right before us represents a streetlight that no longer works, a sidewalk that is shrouded in darkness and a community that no longer feels safe,” Park said.
Thieves have ripped open utility boxes and cut through streetlights across LA, leaving entire neighborhoods in the dark and disrupting essential communication services.
“It impacts the most vulnerable communities in the city of LA -- Black and Brown neighborhoods, youth at parks, senior citizens, single mothers at parks who get out of town by sundown because they fear for their life,” De Leon said.
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In addition to the added investments, the council members are seeking to add two new motions to the city council. One would make it a criminal offense to possess Telcom Wire unless you’re a recognized company or contractor and the second would brand all public sector copper wire to make it more difficult to be resold.
