Wire Thieves Leave Milwaukee Neighborhoods In Darkness

Street light outage on S. Lenox St. in Bay View. Photo by Jeramey Jannene. Brazen thieves are plunging Milwaukee neighborhoods into darkness, leaving city officials struggling to keep up with repairs and searching for ways to stop a crime wave that has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The problem is particularly acute in the neighborhoods surrounding N. 10th St. and W. Capitol Dr., where thieves are ripping live electrical wires out of the city s street lighting system. The Department of Public Works (DPW) recorded approximately 180 theft incidents over the past year, including 75 in August alone. The city has spent an estimated $600,000 to $650,000 repairing the damage. Thefts of copper wire from construction sites are nothing new, but the latest crime wave involves a more dangerous approach. What is different and what started last September is theft of live wires in the ground, said City Engineer Kevin Muhs during a Sept. 30 meeting of the Public Works Committee. Thieves are