I’m curious as to why so many commenters seem to get where the solution lies in this Sac Bee article about wire thieves wreaking darkness on Sacramento streetlights.
In response to the crime wave, the city has taken the unusual step of creating a Police Department task force dedicated solely to investigating metal theft. Since starting its work a few weeks ago, that team of officers has focused on investigating suspects with a history of metal thievery and identifying crime hot spots in the city where patrol officers are told to keep a careful watch. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has also dedicated a prosecutor to metal- theft cases.
That’s great that actions are being taken to prevent or stop the theft, but doesn’t the real problem lie in the ability to easily recycle this stuff?
Am I over simplifying this? Missing the obvious? Let me know.
The Sac Rag 
Great point. Seems like the cops could make a dent by dropping some business cards at wherever it is you can take a bunch of clearly harvested copper wire and trade it in.
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Great idea, sure, but dropping off biz cards and solving the problem efficiently is not in the best interest of the Union. A “task force” is sure to require some added bureaucracy, and that is where their interests lie.
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Maybe I’m missing something. How does dropping off business cards foil wire thieves?
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Because these are magic business cards… spawned on the planet Coppernia, rendering all business transactions within a five foot radius null and void.
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Interestingly, Sac PD has been on the case for three months and arrested several recyclers who weren’t following the rules. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/06/4395012/sacramento-police-sting-results.html
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Saw this today on kcra.com.
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