The high prices of metals such as copper, platinum and rhodium have caused a spike in theft of such metals across the United States. Thieves damage public property to strip wires out of lampposts, plunging entire streets into darkness. While looting streetlights may net the thieves a few dollars, it costs the city thousands to repair them. At the same time, thieves across the country are stealing catalytic converters from parked vehicles. City of Los Angeles vehicles that are urgently needed to serve the public have been sidelined while the city replaces the stolen converters. These too are being stolen for the resale value of the metal.
Councilmember Krekorian has initiated several steps in the City Council to address this theft of public property. In February he introduced motions in Council that would:
Councilmember Krekorian has initiated several steps in the City Council to address this theft of public property. In February he introduced motions in Council that would:
Request the City Attorney to seek criminal and civil actions against scrap metal dealers who traffic in stolen property.
Require all departments to improve security to protect city property from theft, especially at vehicle yards.
Direct the Bureau of Street Lighting to invest in better preventive measures to protect street light infrastructure from wire theft and vandalism that causes outages.
The City Council has also approved a $200,000 pilot project (funded through the Performance Commissions Innovation Fund) to deploy solar street lighting in test locations. In addition to the environmental benefits of reducing electricity demand, solar lights do not require wiring to connect to the power system. These lights cannot be targeted for wire theft, and they are unaffected by other types of power failures.