Seattle councilmembers take step to address copper wire thefts

Seattle City councilmembers are taking a step to address copper wire thefts in the city.

Two budget committee requests offered by Councilmember Lisa Herbold were presented Friday. They include expanding reporting on theft and vandalism of city assets and improving compliance with existing state-level copper wire theft laws citywide.

According to a city council release, Herbold revealed nearly 20 copper wire thefts of Seattle City Light infrastructure cost more than $650,000 in repair work. It was discovered during the fall budget process.
And thefts at more than 10 parks cost nearly $100,000.

The budget requests will ask the Seattle Police Department to create a citywide asset loss approach and report on scrap metal recyclers' compliance with copper wire laws that require recyclers to keep accurate records of transactions that can be used to deter the purchase of stolen metals.

Also, to prevent continued theft, City Light will reengineer access points to streetlights and other areas where a neighborhood is experiencing repeated theft, according to the release.

A spokesperson for Seattle City Light said it's not always about the money – homeless people underneath the West Seattle Bridge have been blamed for also vandalizing the lights along a busy pathway, popular with bike commuters, in order to keep the area dark.

The lights underneath the bridge have repeatedly been targeted, according to Seattle City Light, that said it stopped filing police reports because arrests were often unlikely. KIRO 7 counted more than six city lights underneath the bridge not turned on Monday night.

Herbold, who called the problem dangerous, said Seattle City Light has delayed repairs as other projects have taken priority.

In early October, KIRO 7 reported on three copper wire thefts that left a White Center neighborhood in the dark. Power to 23 streetlights had been cut and it started in August.

For those looking to see where lights are out, City Light has a streetlight repair tracker that shows outages.

Officials said after several years with few copper wire thefts, they are seeing a surge.

Not only are copper wire thefts happening in Seattle but there have been several recent thefts at stadiums in Western Washington leaving student athletes in the dark, postponing football games.

Recent coverage of Copper wire thefts at stadiums:

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