Kent police, Comcast and Lumen urge public help after wave of cable thefts disrupts 911, businesses and homes

Kent police, Comcast and Lumen briefed the City Council Committee of the Whole on June 17 about a continuing rash of cable thefts that have severed telephone, internet and critical communications in residential and rural areas. Chief Padilla said the department now prioritizes in-person officer response to reported incidents and has assigned a detective to work directly with carrier security teams.

Padilla said wire theft has interrupted work, business operations, school communications and, in some cases, 911 dispatching. He told council the problem covers hundreds of miles of aerial and street-level wiring, and that full suppression of the crime will require partnership among police, providers and the public. Padilla credited Comcast and Lumen for training officers and producing public-awareness materials.

Representatives from Lumen (regional operations manager Gene Reid) and Comcast (Terry Davis, senior director of external government affairs) described operational impacts and countermeasures. Lumen said thieves target copper that can be resold and that fiber is sometimes damaged when criminals cut overlaying copper; one Lumen representative estimated millions of dollars in regional losses year-to-date and described crews finding people asleep on cut cable. Comcast said it had recorded dozens of incidents in Puget Sound this year, with about 42 in South King County and roughly 29 incidents in Kent specifically; company technicians reported typical field setup and restoration times of several hours and overall restoration within about four to eight hours when crews can safely splice fiber.

Both companies said they have deployed cameras, improved splicing preparedness, expanded technician capacity and are coordinating public messaging by SMS and blog posts to alert customers. Comcast said it is exploring cellular-based backup options tied to modems and mobile services for affected customers but said work on consumer-facing backup solutions is ongoing.

Council members discussed enforcement and prevention strategies, including legislative changes to discourage resale of stolen copper and closer scrutiny of local recyclers that buy scrap metal. City and company representatives said prosecutions are difficult but possible; Padilla said the department has made arrests and will pursue misdemeanor or felony charges when applicable, and he asked residents to call 911 immediately when they see suspicious activity near telecom infrastructure.

Comcast, Lumen and the police department also described a short public-service video produced with the Kent Police Department to help residents recognize and report copper theft.