The L.A. City Council on Tuesday approved an additional $200,000 to support a task force dedicated to fighting copper wire theft.
The funding approval comes a week after Councilmembers Kevin de León and Traci Park held a press conference to share that the effort had yielded 82 arrests, over 2,000 pounds of stolen copper wire recovered and nine firearms seized through a total of 26 operations.
“This additional funding will enhance our ability to combat these destructive crimes and ensure that our neighborhoods can be safe and secure,” said De León in a statement.
The heavy metal task force launched at the end of January as a partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL). De León says he helped spearhead the effort because copper wire thefts and scrap metal crimes have most affected predominantly working-class neighborhoods like Council District 14’s Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights and Downtown L.A.
“Just five years ago, we were dealing with 500 to 600 cases on an annual basis. However, just in the past year, that number has skyrocketed to a staggering 6,713 cases, with repair costs exceeding an estimated $17 million,” De León shared in January.
The additional funding for the task force was approved in a 12-2 vote, with Councilmember Eunisess Hernandez voting against it and Councilman Paul Krekorian absent during the decision. Hernandez had also previously opposed the effort for its focus on punitive actions rather than preventative measures.
