Police task force has success in fighting Los Angeles copper wire theft
A Los Angeles Police Department task force targeting copper wire theft shared its success since its inception at the beginning of the year, with over 2,000 pounds of stolen copper wire recovered and 82 arrests made, it was announced Tuesday.
Councilmember Kevin de León spearheaded the Heavy Metal Task Force initiative and said at Tuesday's afternoon news conference that he did so "...in response to the absolute dire need to combat the growing epidemic that has left our communities literally in the dark."
Manager of the task force operation, LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Oreb, said the victory of the Heavy Metal Task Force (as they respond to thefts of other metals) has been significant. The task force completed 26 operations, and 60 of 82 arrests were for felony crimes. Nine firearms were also seized.
"These crimes disrupt essential services and endanger the lives of our community," Oreb said. "You could imagine entire city blocks going out without internet, without lighting. It is unacceptable."
The news conference took place at the dead-end of 16th Street west of Imperial Street, a spot previously occupied by copper wire thieves. "Today we stand in an area that was once a notorious hot spot for copper wire theft, where RVs were used as a base for criminal activity," de León said.
Thieves stored the wiring at the location, stripped it and processed it. Oreb said that wasn't the only thing occurring at the site. There was prostitution and narcotics activity, and more he said.
While the success of the task force was praised, de León said more needs to be done in the way of prevention.
De León referred to Los Angeles' 6th Street bridge, which opened in July 2022 at a cost of nearly $600 million, but now is completely dark at night, as about 7 miles from end-to-end of copper wire has been stolen from the bridge.
Over the past year, thieves gradually stripped the lights, poles and copper wiring that illuminate the bridge's arches. The stolen metal in total is worth about $11,000, according to de León.
"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 León said.
The councilmember is proposing to city council two new motions to further fortify efforts to combat heavy metal theft.
One is to make it a criminal offense to possess telecom wire unless one is a recognized telecom company, or authorized subcontractor or contractor. He said the measure will deter the possession and trade of the materials.
He is also proposing that the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting come up with a way to etch or brand all public sector copper wire, to make it more difficult for stolen wire to be resold and traced.
An AT&T representative said at the news conference, that in Los Angeles, the utiltiy is offering a reward of $5,000 for specific and detailed information leading to the arrest and conviction of copper cable thefts or attempted sale or purchase of stolen copper cable from AT&T.