Stockton councilmember warns of streetlight wire thefts leaving neighborhoods in the dark
A Stockton city leader is sounding the alarm, saying that there has been a spike in people stealing wire from streetlights, leaving the community unsafe and dark.
The Stockton Police Department stated that it could only find one report of wire theft in the past thirty days on Tower Hill Drive. That is a few blocks from the area of Mokelumne Circle and Eight Mile Road, where City Councilwoman Michelle Padilla said she has been seeing the spike.
On Tuesday afternoon, CBS13 found city crews hard at work there, covering wires with tarp and pouring concrete to at least a dozen streetlights.
The crews told CBS13 that wire theft has been happening all over Stockton for years and this is the way to deter thieves from prying the manholes open and hopefully prevent the problem in the first place.
The neighborhood does not want to get left in the dark.
"It's dark out here, especially with the fog," said Briana Cardenas, who lives in Stockton. "It's dangerous."
Cardenas said she has noticed some streetlights flickering, but did not know that wire thieves were to blame.
"I think it's absolutely crazy, considering there are like no streetlights around here," she said.
The city said it is still working to see how much of a widespread issue this is and could not give a number of how many streetlights have been impacted.