Local
The soaring value of copper wire – now worth $4.50 per pound on the scrap market – has turned Los Angeles’s street lights into lucrative targets for thieves. With a single theft potentially generating thousands of dollars through illegal scrap dealers, criminals are systematically stripping the city’s electrical infrastructure, pushing critical technology upgrades years behind schedule. “Thieves can make hundreds of dollars in minutes by stripping copper from our infrastructure,” Council member Traci Park told Crosstown L.A. This high-profit, low-risk crime has led to an 800% increase in copper theft since 2017, according to NBC4, as thieves target easily accessible
November 13, 2024