LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Copper wire thieves have cost taxpayers over $1.5 million since January 2022.
On Wednesday, the Las Vegas City Council approved an ordinance to try to curb the problem.
The two main points of the ordinance state:
- Scrap metal may only be purchased from someone who has brought the metal by car, not by shopping cart or on a walk-up basis
- It's unlawful to purchase 7-Strand Copper Wire that has been burned in whole or in part to remove insulation, unless the purchaser has evidence identifying the seller and that the wire was lawfully acquired
Violations will result in misdemeanors.
Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen said the language in the ordinance is the same language being used in ordinances in Clark County, North Las Vegas, and Henderson.
"[That's] under LVMPD's guidance so we can tackle this as a regional issue," he said.
What does 7-Strand Copper Wire look like?
According to Joseph Norby, a City Traffic Engineer and Deputy Director of Public Works, each street light typically has a red, green, and white wire. Each of those wires are braided or stranded wire and there are seven individual strands that run and operate the street lights.
"We've over $1 million in remediation efforts to recover and repair the street light wire that has been stolen and recycled throughout the city. The value of recycled copper fluctuates on a day-to-day basis," Norby explained. "I think we're at about $4 a pound, for what it recycles for. We've lost probably a street value of $400,000 or more that has been stolen. "
The problem has continued to grow throughout the valley over the last couple of years.
What is the city doing to prevent copper wire theft from happening?
City officials have been looking at a variety of ways to try to solve the problem.
"Everywhere we go back and replace copper wire, we are replacing it with aluminum wire. Aluminum wire carries a much smaller recyclable value. It doesn't recycle for near the amount that copper wire does so it's less valuable for the thieves to take it. In addition to that, it costs us less, from a city standpoint, to put that back," Norby said. "We are also welding the hand holes, the hand hole access at the bottom of the pole. We are testing some lockable hand holes and some other mitigation measures."
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has formed a Metal Task Force, which is looking at measures like security cameras in theft hot spots, GPS bait and trackers in copper spools of wire, and recruiting street recyclers as informants.
Documents filed with the city also state legislative efforts could be on the table in the future.
Clark County has also launched a pilot program to test how well solar streetlights work instead of using traditional lights.
We have continued to follow this issue closely and it's not just street lights that are being targeted.
Several business leaders that we spoke to say copper wire thieves have caused thousands of dollars in damage by breaking into their air conditioning units.
For example, over Labor Day weekend, thieves targeted Good Pie in the Arts District leading to $10,000 in damaged equipment and spoiled food.
"It's incredibly frustrating to know that there's this like copper criminal syndicate out there targeting small businesses," said owner Vincent Rotolo. "We just need to create laws that are going to stop these criminals from having easy access to selling what they're stealing, which is the copper."
WATCH: Arts District business urges city leaders to address copper theft across valley
How can I report copper wire theft?
You can report copper wire theft through a tip line at (702) 229-3223 and you can learn more here.
