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Utility officials warn copper wire theft is causing outages and safety risks
Summary
Officials said copper wire thefts have risen over the past six months, disrupting telephones, buses, electric and internet service and leaving energized wire on the ground; they urged residents to report suspicious workers and scrap yards not to buy large-gauge wire.
Agency officials warned that a recent rise in copper wire theft is disrupting public and private services and creating a serious safety hazard.
An agency official (S1) said the thefts are "becoming a real problem in the area" and urged people to report suspicious activity to police and the utility. S1 said many incidents cause damage that "costs everyone money" because repairs to electricity, cable and transit infrastructure are required.
Another agency official (S2) said the department began seeing an uptick "about 6 months ago" and that thieves are targeting government and private infrastructure — "transit wire, power poles, wire for, like, Internet, and things like that." S2 warned that removing wire from poles can affect miles of service for telephone, bus, electric and internet customers.
Officials also highlighted a direct physical danger: S1 said thieves often leave "hot wire on the ground," noting, "We our wire is over 600 volts. That can do some real physical damage to somebody." The officials said some incidents occurred in broad daylight, including around 3:00 p.m., and that perpetrators sometimes impersonate workers by wearing vests.
S1 described how legitimate electrical contractors typically use white commercial trucks and bucket trucks rather than small vans or ladders, and urged anyone who sees people working in the air on ladders to call police. "Call us. We're happy to come out and look, versus wire being on the ground and someone's child being hurt," S1 said.
S2 directly appealed to local scrap yards and businesses: "If you see that being burned into your business, be a good neighbor and call the police and... do not buy that wire because you know, well enough, that it's not from a home, that somebody has stolen that expensive wire, and are trying to cash it out for money." The officials emphasized the wire is typically large-gauge and not common household wiring.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript. Officials advised residents to report suspicious workers and material to the police and to the utility so crews can inspect and secure infrastructure. The transcript refers to "DPD" as the police contact; the transcript did not expand that acronym to identify which police department was meant.
The meeting closed with the repeated recommendation that the public call police immediately if they observe people working on poles with ladders or find wire on the ground, and that scrap yards refuse to purchase unverified large-gauge wire.
