“Rampant copper wire theft” is plunging Los Angeles into darkness, leading city officials to install solar-powered streetlights as a fortification measure.
Critics say undaunted thieves will just steal the valuable solar panels. They also wonder why Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is focusing on making infrastructure harder to steal instead of addressing theft itself.
“This installation is a result of Mayor Bass’ focus on improving city services and infrastructure for Angelenos by finding innovative and new ways to solve longstanding city challenges like rampant copper wire theft,” said Bass’s office in a statement. “Solar lighting disrupts the cycle of vandalism and robbery, providing a resilient and sustainable solution to dark streets caused by copper wire theft.”
Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, shared her concern that the solar panels will also be stolen as thieves continue to operate with impunity.
“Karen Bass once again proves her unsuitability for the job of mayor by ignoring the root cause — namely, thievery — and rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Hoge to The Center Square. “You get more behavior you reward, and she’s incentivized copper theft, which will now become solar panel theft.”
Last year, the city’s $600 iconic million “Ribbon of Light” bridge — called so for the vibrant lights on the structure — went dark as thieves stole seven miles of copper wire. The stolen wire from the bridge is estimated to have sold for $11,000 on the black market, but cost the city $2.5 million to repair.
Hundreds of fire hydrants have also been ripped out of the ground for scrap metal, leaving the city more vulnerable to destructive fires like the Palisades and Eaton Fires in January that caused hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses in January.
While the solar panels are on top of the street light poles, the “Ribbon of Light” wire theft suggests thieves are undeterred by height in their drive to loot valuable city infrastructure.
