Following the theft of catalytic converters in cars, copper cables from electric vehicle charging stations and street lights have become the targets of thieves across the United States.
Last weekend on Mother’s Day, at least 6 copper cables from the charging stations at a Tesla station behind the Target store in Vallejo, a city in the Bay Area of California, were reported stolen.
According to InsideEVs, just a few days before the theft in Vallejo, 5 copper cables from charging stations were stolen at a Tesla charging station in Houston, Texas. In Fresno, a city in central California, more than 50 cables from the city’s 88 electric vehicle charging stations have been stolen, with some being targeted multiple times.
These cables contain valuable copper metal. Based on data from the Daily Metal Prices website, the market price of copper exceeded $5 per pound on May 17. Analysts believe that the recent surge in such thefts is mainly due to thieves aiming to make quick money by selling copper metal.
Similar to the theft of catalytic converters in cars, while the value gained by thieves from each theft may be relatively small, the cost for owners to repair the damage can amount to thousands of dollars.
In Los Angeles, copper cable theft cases are increasing at an unprecedented rate. Some even say that the people of Los Angeles can sense the rampant copper cable theft by the darkness of the streets at night, as once the cables are stolen, the affected areas plunge into darkness. In the first three months of this year, Los Angeles recorded 11,000 instances of stolen copper wires from street lights.
Reported by XTOWN.LA, in December last year, a stretch of copper cable over 3.8 miles long was stolen from the Sixth Street Viaduct in Los Angeles, resulting in repair costs of up to $2.5 million. In March this year, public data from MyLA 311 showed a 69% increase in reported street light issues compared to the same period last year, often stemming from copper cables being pulled out of electrical boxes.
Thieves are becoming more cunning in their methods. Shortly after a bronze historical sculpture was stolen and damaged in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles last month, a bronze sculpture of a newsboy went missing. Following an investigation, it was discovered that the thieves wore reflective vests to camouflage themselves as city workers during the thefts.
Officials in Los Angeles describe the situation of copper cable theft in the area as “rampant” and “shockingly fast-paced.” Copper metal theft causes the city an estimated $17 million in losses annually. The city has approved a reward program to encourage residents to provide tips on such cases and established a special task force in February to combat copper metal theft crimes.
Not only Los Angeles, but the neighboring historic city of Pasadena has also fallen victim to such thefts. The city discovered dozens of antique bronze street light poles stolen and intentionally damaged in March and April this year. Since November last year, Pasadena has witnessed 45 cases of copper cable theft, resulting in a loss of 6.5 miles of copper cables affecting 360 street lights and two traffic signal lights. The city is currently offering rewards for information leading to the capture of the suspects.
Copper cable theft in rural areas is also rampant, with a series of thefts reported in Kern County’s oil fields and farmlands in California.
Copper metal theft has a long history in the United States. Recently in Las Vegas, the theft of copper cables led to widespread street light outages, incurring $1.8 million in replacement costs and raising concerns about public safety.
According to Scrap Theft Alert, a website under the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), numerous theft cases related to copper metal have been reported in states such as Washington, Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that besides individuals, copper metal thieves are often organized drug addicts, gang members, or metal thieves. This crime is often considered a misdemeanor (petty theft), with lower fines and a maximum sentence of up to one year.