LA aims to crack down on copper theft by targeting metal recyclers

LOS ANGELES — The city has launched an initiative to address what officials say is an “epidemic of copper theft” by cracking down on unscrupulous metal recyclers, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced Tuesday.

In a partnership between the city attorney’s office and Council President Paul Krekorian, the city has sent letters to nearly 700 recyclers, warning them that they are required to comply with the state’s laws regulating copper sales and that the Los Angeles Police Department is authorized to inspect their records.

Failure to comply with copper-sale laws, or failure to cooperate with an inspection and falsifying or destroying records of copper purchases and sales will result in legal penalties.

“Copper wire theft is a public safety issue that costs L.A. area taxpayers millions of dollars yearly and harms neighborhoods when street lights go out and water pipes stop working,” Feldstein Soto said during a Tuesday news conference outside City Hall.

She encouraged recyclers to do their part in eliminating the market for stolen copper.

Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton of the LAPD Valley Bureau said in a statement the police department will provide “effective enforcement” as soon as they become aware of illegal activity by “crooked recyclers” who don’t follow state law.

According to the city attorney’s office, there has been an increase in copper thefts and acts of vandalism in the city, resulting in the destruction of public property.

Month after month, entire blocks of the city have gone dark at times as thieves rip the copper wire from street lights faster than the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting can replace them, according to city officials.

The city has taken steps to prevent copper thefts from city street lights, but staff have achieved only limited success. City parks have also fallen victim to thieves who wrench copper fixtures from park water systems, and even Metro’s rail crossing signals have been looted, further endangering public safety.

The offices of council members said they receive constituent calls almost every day reporting street light failures and other damages caused by copper theft.

As part of the initiative, the Bureau of Street Lighting and Metro, who are charged with tracking these incidents, have compiled and shared this data with the city attorney’s office to identify areas with the highest incidence of copper theft.

“This is no longer just a matter of petty theft. This is a crime that directly impacts public safety,” Krekorian said in a statement. “This is a crime that puts lives at risk. It’s a crime that makes our neighborhoods darker and more dangerous.”

He added, “The business owners who trade in stolen copper are just as guilty as the thieves who steal it and we’re putting them on notice that they’ll be held responsible.”

While its costs the city millions every year to replace these damaged utilities, each crime may yield only a few dollars in profit for the criminals.

The city attorney’s office noted that thieves rely on recyclers who violate state laws, which requires business to record the place and date of each sale, along with a government-issued photo ID, proof of address, thumbprint from each seller, and a photograph of the metal being purchased.

Sellers must wait three days after the date of sale to receive payment.

“Without the promise of immediate payment, no questions asked, the thieves’ profit motive will be virtually eliminated,” the city attorney’s office said in a statement. “While no one measure is guaranteed to end the illegal copper trade and keep our street lights on, shutting down the market for stolen copper will take away the thieves’ incentive for endangering public safety.”