4 ms·

Our local metro area has had a problem with copper thieves for a few years now, cutting open and stealing the wiring from street lights. People are why we can'

Our local metro area has had a problem with copper thieves for a few years now, cutting open and stealing the wiring from street lights. People are why we can't have nice things, apparently.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
They're targeting rail infrastructure here, but a lot of copper there is being replaced with cheaper materials like aluminium.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  And signalling with fiber.
sonicanatidae 3y ago
Humans will always be the problem, because there is one immutable fact about humans that history has proven too many times to list. There. Is. Always. An. Asshole. Always.
throwanem 3y ago
'People' is a remarkable way to misspell 'poverty'.
- mcphage 3y ago
  In the broad I agree, but in this specific case, I don't think poor people can dismantle a 200' steel radio tower without anyone noticing. I'm guessing that would require some heavy, expensive equipment.
  - throwanem 3y ago
    To do safely, sure.
- zdragnar 3y ago
  Poverty is not itself a reason to commit crime. Some people steal whether they are poor or rich, others don't, whether they are poor or rich. Around here, it's mostly organized gangs doing the stealing, not random poor people... If that were the case, the city wouldn't have a single light fixture left unscathed.
  - throwanem 3y ago
    > Poverty is not itself a reason to commit crime. Of course not. It would be absurd to assert otherwise. You always get some scofflaws, but I don't see a reason to assume you get more scofflaws in a weak economy than a strong one. More lawbreakers, yes, but breaking laws for economically rational reasons isn't the same as doing so for its own sake. I would be curious to know where the people who join such groups come from, and what other prospects they might have had such that difficult, dangerous, and illegal work still ends up looking preferable.
    - zdragnar 3y ago
      Limited experience based on what my friend told me (I grew up in a rural community, so very different dynamics): it starts in schools. Gangs start recruiting young. It's a fast way to get "friends" who have more than you do- the illusion of power, material wealth, so on. Furthermore, attempting to do well in school means your fellow students will bully you for "acting white". If your parents didn't do well in school, they are less likely to pressure you to do well. They might be working long hours to make ends meet, or living on disability or either form of welfare. This will exclude you from many extracurricular activities which require parental support as well. If you see your parents barely making ends meet, and gangbangers offer you the illusion of more, and everyone around you says you'll never amount to anything by studying or trying to get good grades, it isn't hard to see the allure. So, for these students at least, poverty is a culture and the trap becomes lifelong once you get a record and can't get a job anywhere that pays better than minimum wage. Rinse and repeat with the next generation. My friend was fortunate enough to have a father who pressured him to do well in school, and to go on to secondary education. He escaped the trap, but few of the people he grew up with did the same.
- cornhole 3y ago
  i blame it on culture
toomuchtodo 3y ago
> People are why we can't have nice things, apparently. Always has been. With that said, this is incredibly impressive from a logistics perspective. Hire these folks for demolition and salvage work.
- xtiansimon 3y ago
  Or arrest them, convict them, and make them pickup garbage on weekends.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Good luck with that. You can’t even arrest people who break into vehicles in broad daylight.
  - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
    Good luck with that, someone will have to supervise them. And supervise the supervisors.
chasd00 3y ago
when the price of copper went through the roof a few years ago the local drug houses in Dallas started accepting it as payment for drugs. They would then sell the metal to scrap yards at a profit. Once that was up and running any copper left unguarded was gone instantly. Air conditioners were gone, wiring in new construction was gone, wiring in rent houses was gone, any copper anywhere was stolen constantly. I remember seeing people pushing shopping carts in Old East Dallas filled with copper cables, pipes, and other stuf. There was a story probably once a month about someone breaking into a power substation or some other high voltage area to try and steal copper and electrocuting themselves.
- mmmuhd 3y ago
  [dead]
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  My local scrapyard requires a photo ID before they will pay for anything other than aluminum cans. Doesn't seem like a complicated solution.
  - thfuran 3y ago
    And it's a good thing that fake IDs are illegal so criminals can't circumvent that kind of thing.
    - supertrope 3y ago
      Metal thieves who are exchanging wiring for cash for drugs are even more impulsive than other street criminals. Sometimes raising the bar a bit can make a big difference.
  - chasd00 3y ago
    that's what started to turn the tide (along with falling prices) the police started cracking down on scrap yards buying obviously stolen property.
  - throwway120385 3y ago
brewtide 3y ago
In an area around nearby, years ago (in the sticks...) someone went up the power lines through the woods and clipped all the bare grounding wire from miles of poles from about 8 feet up to the ground. Seems like a lot of work for low money.

Our local metro area has had a problem with copper thieves for a few years now, cutting open and stealing the wiring from street lights. People are why we can't have nice things, apparently.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago

They're targeting rail infrastructure here, but a lot of copper there is being replaced with cheaper materials like aluminium.

jacquesm 3y ago
And signalling with fiber.

sonicanatidae 3y ago

Humans will always be the problem, because there is one immutable fact about humans that history has proven too many times to list. There. Is. Always. An. Asshole. Always.

throwanem 3y ago

'People' is a remarkable way to misspell 'poverty'.

mcphage 3y ago
In the broad I agree, but in this specific case, I don't think poor people can dismantle a 200' steel radio tower without anyone noticing. I'm guessing that would require some heavy, expensive equipment.
- throwanem 3y ago
  To do safely, sure.
zdragnar 3y ago
Poverty is not itself a reason to commit crime. Some people steal whether they are poor or rich, others don't, whether they are poor or rich. Around here, it's mostly organized gangs doing the stealing, not random poor people... If that were the case, the city wouldn't have a single light fixture left unscathed.
- throwanem 3y ago
  > Poverty is not itself a reason to commit crime. Of course not. It would be absurd to assert otherwise. You always get some scofflaws, but I don't see a reason to assume you get more scofflaws in a weak economy than a strong one. More lawbreakers, yes, but breaking laws for economically rational reasons isn't the same as doing so for its own sake. I would be curious to know where the people who join such groups come from, and what other prospects they might have had such that difficult, dangerous, and illegal work still ends up looking preferable.
  - zdragnar 3y ago
    Limited experience based on what my friend told me (I grew up in a rural community, so very different dynamics): it starts in schools. Gangs start recruiting young. It's a fast way to get "friends" who have more than you do- the illusion of power, material wealth, so on. Furthermore, attempting to do well in school means your fellow students will bully you for "acting white". If your parents didn't do well in school, they are less likely to pressure you to do well. They might be working long hours to make ends meet, or living on disability or either form of welfare. This will exclude you from many extracurricular activities which require parental support as well. If you see your parents barely making ends meet, and gangbangers offer you the illusion of more, and everyone around you says you'll never amount to anything by studying or trying to get good grades, it isn't hard to see the allure. So, for these students at least, poverty is a culture and the trap becomes lifelong once you get a record and can't get a job anywhere that pays better than minimum wage. Rinse and repeat with the next generation. My friend was fortunate enough to have a father who pressured him to do well in school, and to go on to secondary education. He escaped the trap, but few of the people he grew up with did the same.
cornhole 3y ago
i blame it on culture

toomuchtodo 3y ago

> People are why we can't have nice things, apparently. Always has been. With that said, this is incredibly impressive from a logistics perspective. Hire these folks for demolition and salvage work.

xtiansimon 3y ago
Or arrest them, convict them, and make them pickup garbage on weekends.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Good luck with that. You can’t even arrest people who break into vehicles in broad daylight.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
  Good luck with that, someone will have to supervise them. And supervise the supervisors.

chasd00 3y ago

when the price of copper went through the roof a few years ago the local drug houses in Dallas started accepting it as payment for drugs. They would then sell the metal to scrap yards at a profit. Once that was up and running any copper left unguarded was gone instantly. Air conditioners were gone, wiring in new construction was gone, wiring in rent houses was gone, any copper anywhere was stolen constantly. I remember seeing people pushing shopping carts in Old East Dallas filled with copper cables, pipes, and other stuf. There was a story probably once a month about someone breaking into a power substation or some other high voltage area to try and steal copper and electrocuting themselves.

mmmuhd 3y ago
[dead]
SoftTalker 3y ago
My local scrapyard requires a photo ID before they will pay for anything other than aluminum cans. Doesn't seem like a complicated solution.
- thfuran 3y ago
  And it's a good thing that fake IDs are illegal so criminals can't circumvent that kind of thing.
  - supertrope 3y ago
    Metal thieves who are exchanging wiring for cash for drugs are even more impulsive than other street criminals. Sometimes raising the bar a bit can make a big difference.
- chasd00 3y ago
  that's what started to turn the tide (along with falling prices) the police started cracking down on scrap yards buying obviously stolen property.
- throwway120385 3y ago

brewtide 3y ago

In an area around nearby, years ago (in the sticks...) someone went up the power lines through the woods and clipped all the bare grounding wire from miles of poles from about 8 feet up to the ground. Seems like a lot of work for low money.