Copper Thieves Target Loma Linda

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators are asking the public to be on the lookout for anyone who appears to be working on a light pole or traffic light in the evening hours.

It might be a copper wire thief, they said.

Loma Linda has had a rash of copper wire thefts over the last few weeks, according to Loma Linda Police/Sheriff’s Department and city officials.

Thieves have been hitting residential street and a few traffic lights, police officials said. They are driving up, pulling the wires from the electrical conduit and then take off.

Investigators have not been able to get a description of the thief or thieves or the vehicle they may be driving.

“It looks like we’re finding them because the city is finding the damage left behind,” said Jodi Miller, spokeswoman with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.

The issue has more recently become a significant problem, said Konrad Bolowich, the city's director of community development.

Thieves will rip the lids off some of the electrical boxes and rip out the wiring, Bolowich said. It takes some time to do this and yet no one’s been caught in the act.

“When (copper) prices went down, the thefts went down along with it. And now prices are back up, so the thefts are way back up,” he said.

The problem is region-wide, he said. Everyone is being hit. Most cities are tightening belts. Many have been forced to cut staff.

The last thing any municipality wants is to pay out thousands to replace wiring, said Carl Baker, spokesman for the City of Redlands. Several neighborhoods in that city have been and continue to be targets for copper thieves.

For Redlands, this has been an ongoing problem.

“The amount that the thieves essentially receives for recycling that copper wire is miniscule compared to the costs to the city when the wiring is pulled out of street lights,” Baker said. Not just the wiring is damaged, he said.

What the cities need is cooperation from the recyclers that buy the wire. However, Baker said he understands it is difficult to identify wire.

In an effort to increase their chances of gaining some sort of advantage, Loma Linda and its wire manufacturers have marked their copper wire so it may be identified, Bolowich said.

But the public’s help will be key to stopping many of these thefts, officials said.

“Be vigilant,” Bolowich said. “The community needs to keep their eyes open. If there are people goofing around doing street type stuff in the dark, well, we don’t work in the dark. That may warrant a phone call to someone to see what’s going on.”

If you suspect someone may be stealing copper, call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at (909) 387-8313 and request a deputy to check the area.