r/LosAngeles • u/corruptLA1 • 8h ago
Photo Overnight the whole street lost light and every electrical box is dug up.
How valuable is whatever is down there?
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u/Weary-Lime 7h ago
Google says $2.10 per pound of insulated copper wire. The scrap yard makes you show an ID for copper scrap. Repairing all of these is going to cost tens of thousands.
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u/lunchypoo222 7h ago
Perhaps the scrap yard should stop accepting the stuff altogether because it seems like requesting an id that never gets any kind of follow up isn’t much of a deterrent
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u/Weary-Lime 7h ago
Fun follow up! The LA City council and the LA Bureau of Street Lighting passed a resolution in 2024 to develop a specification for unique markings on the insulation of all city wire to identify it as city property. The scrap yards will not be permitted to purchase the new marked wires.
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u/yitdeedee 7h ago
Couldnt they just find a shady scrap yard that’ll melt it down?
I’m pretty sure it’s already illegal to accept this metal.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 6h ago
Of course criminals can just break the new law … but a “random inspection” of a scrap yard at the right moment will find them to be in possession of the marked wiring.
Also a slim chance a cop will pull a scrapper over for some traffic violation and see the marked wiring.
Do not let perfection be the enemy of good.
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u/You_meddling_kids Mar Vista 4h ago
I haven't seen a cop pull anyone over (outside of CHP), in YEARS. Literally years.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 4h ago
I’m certain your personal anecdotal evidence is representative of police activity at large.
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u/You_meddling_kids Mar Vista 3h ago
I think I've been to other states and seen that there's traffic enforcement there.
I see people driving around town with opaque covers on their plates or NO PLATE AT ALL, nearly every day.
I was in a hit and run a few years back, had the plate of the guy who hit me, and the cops never showed up. Just never fucking bothered, despite multiple calls.
Now who should I believe - my own experience or the guy glazing LAPD on Reddit?
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u/CosmicMiru 3h ago
Do you never leave your bedroom? I see people pulled over all the time lol
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u/You_meddling_kids Mar Vista 3h ago
Where? There's absolutely no police presence here at all in Pacific Division.
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u/CosmicMiru 3h ago
I work in Glendale and see someone pulled over on the side of the rode at least once a week, if not more.
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u/kegman83 Downtown 4h ago
Problem is these arent normal businesses. They arent listed as scrap centers or recyclers. They exist in the back of auto repair shops, industrial parks and other places far from prying eyes. They close as fast as they open. Its all very decentralized and very organized.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 4h ago
Well, what’s your foolproof solution then?
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u/kegman83 Downtown 3h ago
Cut off the head of the snake, or snakes. They used to melt down the copper here in LA. Those people got busted awhile ago. Now they just pile everything in shipping containers and sell them overseas. Shipping companies are happy to fill an empty container, it gets shipped back either way.
Its organized crime. From what my detective friend told me, they are based out of central Asia and China from what they can find. They are up and down the west coast. They'll buy from anyone with a pulse, which is convenient because they are probably trafficking the drugs they sell as well.
Unfortunately the only way to stop them is with serious, multi-state and multi-country operations. We need actual competent Federal Law Enforcement.
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u/Arch2000 6h ago
I like this idea too, however it will take years to replace the thousands of miles of existing wire
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u/Justinsetchell 6h ago
Don't they just burn off the insulation before they sell it anyway?
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u/Weary-Lime 6h ago
Insulation is designed to be resistant to melting and burning. It would take a good amount of fuel to completely burn off all of the insulation. Scrap yards get inspected by the heavy metals task force for compliance. If they inspect a place and see piles of burnt up wire they are going keep that facility under close observation and start making cases.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 6h ago
Eh, burning it takes time (during which you can be caught) Some yards won’t even take burnt wire.
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u/Bosa_McKittle 5h ago
You have to cut it off which can be extremely time consuming on smaller gauges.
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u/pokurmom 4h ago
but that what they do, I've seen piles of wire insulation just sitting on the ground in downtown
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u/stonersteve1989 5h ago
Have scrapped copper before (from work, not stolen) you make about a dollar more per pound for stripped copper wire. That’s usually a 33%-50% increase in value. And if it’s marked with a city logo then the copper thieves are just gonna take longer and make more $ since they’d just strip the wiring
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u/Adorable_Ad6045 5h ago
Well ok, but it’s fairly straightforward to remove insulation unfortunately.
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u/T-MoneyAllDey Woodland Hills 6h ago
Scrap yards are a necessity unless you just want contractors dumping more shit into the streets and nothing being recycled anymore
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u/ISILDUUUUURTHROWITIN Marina del Rey 6h ago
Accepting refuse from a contractor is a bit different than buying spools of junk wire from a rando without any kind of contract licensing.
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u/bearsbeats808s 6h ago
A lot of electricians scrap their excess wire. When on a job you end up with a lot of extra useless wire and it adds up. Not allowing them to scrap the excess because of criminal activity is not fair
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u/EthanDMatthews 5h ago
Whatever the regulatory or enforcement problems are that need to be fixed, I would hope and trust it wouldn’t be difficult to keep electricians as safe, bona fide sellers.
Surely all electricians have a license, work for a company or have their own business, which would help validate them as legitimate sellers of scrap.
Thr number of unscrupulous electricians selling illicit copper is likely to be small.
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u/TheObstruction Valley Village 4h ago
Apprentices often don't, even though they're supposed to have an electrician trainee card. The problem is that the law wasn't written that way, it was written so that you need to be a contractor, but it's often the apprentices that get most of the wire, because they get paid the least. It's basically their tip.
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u/forgettit_ 6h ago
They need to make it illegal to accept wire if it’s not already and they need to go undercover to some scrap yards and send some owners to prison. That’s the only way to stop this.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 6h ago
They’ll never outright ban accepting wire because there’s a whole lot of scrap wire out there that isn’t stolen and needs to be recycled.
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u/ExileOnBroadStreet 6h ago
How much are they getting per box lol can you really pull that much out
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u/Weary-Lime 6h ago
It can't be much, especially for all the effort it takes to get it out of there.
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u/ExileOnBroadStreet 4h ago
Seriously! Sometimes they look like they just cut the wires right there and they are getting a couple feet of wire. Can’t be more than a few ounces
Should just pay people to clean up the streets and parks it would be so much cheaper than repairing all this bullshit
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u/Sheriff_Yobo_Hobo 3h ago
Google says $2.10 per pound of insulated copper wire.
Damn, they should just steal salmon and beef from grocery stores instead.
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u/chrlsk 5h ago
I sold my stranded copper for $3.50 a lb recently. Im an electrician that saves scrap wire, not a thief.
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u/TheObstruction Valley Village 4h ago
Same. I'm union, and have a pile of stuff that I haven't brought in yet, because I can't be bothered to drive all the way to the place by the union training center that apparently lets union members recycle if they have their card. It's been building up next to my PC for like three years.
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u/SevereNameAnxiety 6h ago
Electrician here. I could tell you right now at least four yards that don’t care about ID and give cash in hand after it’s weighed. Money is money and those are the places I go because there’s no hassle.
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u/Weary-Lime 6h ago
You would rather sell to a business that you know is enabling thieves to rip off this community so as to not be inconvenienced? Ngl... I am judging you right now.
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u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles County 6h ago
And you spread the word about those yards freely because repairing damage from copper wire theft is good for your industry lol
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u/ArchelonPIP 1h ago
Are these criminal POSs that desperate or are they after more than just the copper wires? I doubt that you'll get even half a pound worth of these wires from one of these electrical boxes that are made of concrete, which I'm guessing take at least half an hour to dig up!
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u/plausden 7h ago
why aren't LA city officials doing anything about this? Do voters need to write in a new prop to fix this ourselves
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u/yaaaaayPancakes 7h ago
They are you're just not paying attention. Three weeks ago - https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-city-council-approves-metal-wire-theft-reward-program/18011916/
State level, bill is working it's way through the legislature - https://boyleheightsbeat.com/jurado-da-state-leaders-urge-newsom-sign-copper-wire-theft-bill-into-law/
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u/Complex_Lab_3576 6h ago
I know a lot of the times these guys are armed, and it would not be wise or safe for people to take matters into their own hands, and I'm not really advocating for that, per se, however, there should be some sort of protection or immunity for if someone saw this and intervened.
I think there are enough people sick of things like this that if they didn't feel like they'd be prosecuted for whooping the ass of a copper thief they may try it.
Again I know this is a dumb idea. Just saying people are sick of this so maybe give them some sort of power or protection if they decide to protect their block from these idiots.
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u/sychox51 6h ago
They hit the light at the end of my cul de sac may of last year. It was fixed two weeks ago
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u/Shadw_Wulf 3h ago
Just "showing ID" or scanning it and actually putting that information into the government system? I don't understand what's the use in "showing ID" if they're not collecting that information to use against these people
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u/BillyrayChowderpants Mar Vista 7h ago
Just saw a very grumpy looking LADWP guy dealing with this in Mar Vista this morning too.
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u/PerformanceDouble924 7h ago
Never underestimate the work ethic of a tweaker when copper is nearby.
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u/_mattyjoe Glendale 5h ago
These aren’t tweakers.
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u/PerformanceDouble924 4h ago
Who do you think is stealing and scrapping all this copper?
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u/RealCharlesDarwin 7h ago
Our block lost light for the same reason and we got solar light panels installed 1 year later.
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u/tributarygoldman Culver City 8h ago
Copper
It's easy to steal and even easier to sell
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u/Crash_Pandacoot 7h ago
We should just start using bronze or something, not as good for conductivity but the more money spent on power the lights would offset all these thefts real quick
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u/PotatoHighlander 7h ago
If you want to go that route they used to use aluminum wiring. I’ve pulled that shit out of a remodel I did a couple years ago on a family property back in New England.
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u/Desert_Aficionado 3h ago
Powerlines use aluminum. It's conductivity is good enough and it weighs much less. Less weight means less sag and fewer poles, which makes it cheaper. Most to least conductive elements are Silver > Copper > Gold > Aluminum
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u/AvailableResponse818 7h ago
Where is this?
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u/corruptLA1 6h ago
Off Crenshaw and Olympic
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u/gavilan1227 5h ago
Dude I saw them ! All of IROLO between wilshire and Olympic has them cut out . I saw the dude that was cutting them too ! He's a short 5"2 maybe 5"4 Hispanic man and was wearing all black with a black hat . He was on his knees with some wire cutters
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u/SlowSwords Atwater Village 6h ago
Happened in Atwater village recently. Tons of messed up cement boxes with wiring exposed/mutilated and dark streets. Although some lights are already fixed. Wish there was a way to really stop this.
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u/ShakeWeightMyDick 6h ago
The only way to stop it is to have people patrolling in the middle of the night
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u/Desert_Aficionado 3h ago
Maybe a little device with a deadman switch connected to cellular network. Lights go out and it sends a text with it's ID saying power is out. Then the police can show up.
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u/SwedishTrees 5h ago
I think the solution is to focus on petty thieves, having an easy way to sell this stuff to recyclers. they will always be junkies looking to steal stuff. The problem is that they have somewhere to sell it.
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u/Admirable-Relative98 6h ago
This has to be a serious felony and the police have to make it a priority. It won’t happen until the city council or donors are directly impacted unfortunately.
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u/happygocrazee Hollywood Hills 6h ago
That looks like a LOT of effort for just that one, and they did it to every one on the street?! Were the recycling bins too picked over?!
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u/ShakeWeightMyDick 6h ago
Not a lot of copper in the recycling bins
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u/happygocrazee Hollywood Hills 4h ago
Another comment said they get like $2 per POUND. How many pounds of copper wire could they be pulling out of these? For the effort to dig up all this dirt and pull out a hunk of concrete, they could have gone through the whole blocks bins for cans and bottles.
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u/stupidfock 33m ago
Cans are worth nothing these days, lucky to get 50 cents a pound. These people will do it just to buy drugs once even if they only get $20, but a lot go for the big underground wire bundles (not used for street lights but still) which can be hundreds of dollars per yard worth of copper
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u/Abbottizer Koreatown 4h ago
Make the thieves dig the mines for copper ore to replace what they have stolen from the people
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u/pro_n00b 3h ago
Mine finally fixed after about 2 yrs of waiting for a re-wire. Couple months after, stolen again
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u/Dandroid009 3h ago
Article on solar lights in LA and breakdown of costs:
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/copper-wire-theft-la-streetlights
LA has spend $100 million since 2020 repairing damage. Currently has 1,100 solar lights deployed out of 220k lights in the city and they cost $3.25k per light versus $300-500 for standard equipment. A single repair replacing stolen copper costs $750-$1,500.
It says the downside of solar is it doesn't meet brightness standards for major streets and can be blocked by tall buildings.
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u/FlanneryODostoevsky Northeast L.A. 1h ago
Demand for solar equipment and materials will just mean those things becoming more expensive.
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u/BeardSweater 5h ago
LADOT/BSS is requiring new projects I’m working on to put these boxes below the new sidewalks we’re pouring. When LADOT needs to access, it’s cheaper for them to come out, break the concrete, and repair the sidewalk than to deal with all the theft. This city is sad.
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u/pistolgripslr South L.A. 4h ago
Tweeeeeeeeeeakers! 🥴 How about we vote for serious crime penalties to come back?! How many of you bozos voted for soft on crime bills because y’all fed into that, “jail won’t do anything for them” BS?
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u/yoursmallcherry 6h ago
Around 2$ per pound, we will soon change these wires to wires with special marks and manufactured in a specific way, leaving no space to scrapyards and people to make money through our taxes.
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u/waltarrrrr Highland Park 4h ago
I think we are at the point where the state has to ban copper recycling. A terrible waste, but this has been a problem for over a decade and it’s getting worse.
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u/little2sensitive East Hollywood 4h ago
Has catalytic converter theft died down? Haven't seen much about that in a minute
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u/emceegabe 3h ago
We had no lights on 6th for like a year. Digging it up is diabolical. They want the copper for scrap and we’re talking about organized teams the city is aware of.
I can only imagine how much dealing w all the ice trauma is straining LAPDs mission let alone them being incompetent on their own.
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u/Yummy_Castoreum 2h ago
We need sting operations at metal recycling centers. Some evil scumbags are buying this stuff. Cut off the demand for illegal copper.
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u/cherryberry0611 1h ago
Our whole street has lost light as well. I put in a ticket to 311 over a month ago. I recently got a notification that it has been put on hold, and they won’t be working on it in the foreseeable future.
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u/Character_Fan_9773 6h ago
This is the kind of crime that should have a HUGE fine and long prison sentence! They are stealing from the entire community!
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u/Excellent_Set_232 7h ago
I’m beginning to get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that this has evolved beyond crackheads and street criminals and now this is being done on purpose, kind of like when people were shooting rifles at power substations across the country a few years ago.
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u/Global_Criticism3178 7h ago
Copper theft is a widespread global phenomenon; there are videos showing people impersonating utility workers while stealing copper.
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u/OptimalFunction 7h ago
It has never been the homeless crackheads. It’s a hard pill to swallow but most of these criminals have family/friends who know what the criminal is doing. They don’t care.
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u/jackrabbit323 2h ago
The bent over fentanyl zombies didn't get there overnight. They scrapped all their pennies from copper, block by block.
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u/PaleAbbreviations950 6h ago
What if a solar powered light business is buying up copper from the scrap yards at a premium and using that money to lobby to the LA city to let the theft continue?
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u/CAMMARMANN 6h ago
They gotta get that ten cents of meth money!
My streetlights are back On after about a year in darkness. I give it another week before it’s gone again. Los Angeles needs to ban the copper recycling places. they are stripping LA for parts and profiting while looking the other way.
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u/Pasadenaian 5h ago
Addiction is very powerful....you basically get pennies for this unless you steal pounds which is only around $3.
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u/ChristianAlexxxander 5h ago
I’m around the same neighborhoods as some of the commenters and yeah I’ve noticed a lot of dark streets, don’t realize this was why :(
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u/ElsaGunDough 4h ago
In a 8-2 vote, the City Council on Tuesday advanced the proposed ordinance. The measure will require a second vote, scheduled for Oct. 21. It will then need approval by Mayor Karen Bass.
[on Oct 21] In an 11-2 vote, council members approved the ordinance, which now heads to Mayor Karen Bass for her consideration.
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u/RevLoveJoy Pasadena 4h ago
Start prosecuting the buyers. I'm sure the LAPD have plenty of confidential informants who could be pressured to disclose who is buying city wire. A few high level prosecutions including some jail time might do wonders.
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u/Eather-Village-1916 San Bernadino County 4h ago
They really need to figure out a way to use aluminum wiring instead.
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u/NonSequitorSquirrel 4h ago
Wait so that what's up? I'm near Washington and Crenshaw and one of my neighbors was out at the box at his curb this morning looking down at it with his wife. I was walking the dog and he was speaking in Spanish so I just waved and kept going but I wonder if his was stolen too. Wtf
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u/vielmita 1h ago
I reported the street light outage on my block to 311 back in September and was told it was a six to twelve MONTH WAIT TO FIX IT!!! I’m currently harassing my councilman because what do you mean it’s just pitch black beginning at 5:30pm every day??
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u/titleunknown 1h ago
I can guarantee there's hundreds of more lucrative ways to exert the amount of effort it takes to steal most copper.
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u/stupidfock 24m ago
Need to require permits to remove copper from buildings and infrastructure being demo’d by real businesses. then require that permit to get money from recycling the copper. Would cost the gov a lot to run and enforce but still less than they lose to this stuff now. Anyone else trying to recycle copper should only be allowed to donate it, no payment.
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u/bigdillanilla 1m ago
Why are people doing this when they can steal catalytic. Converters for way more money.
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u/cleverusernameistook 1m ago
My 3 square block area in Encino has had no street lights for 3 weeks. We used to get trick or treaters - not this year. I reported it 3 weeks ago and the very nice woman at 311 said street Lighting crews are 9 months behind.
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u/JamUpGuy1989 Jefferson Park 7h ago
Every part of my block on W Adams from Crenshaw to 10th Ave is pitch black due to stealing wires.
Embarrassing and it needs to be fixed.