Oakland removes traffic lights after thieves repeatedly steal copper wire

Crime and homelessness have gotten so bad in Oakland that the California city has removed traffic lights from a four-way intersection as thieves continue to steal the copper wire out of those signals. According to CBS, people have been stealing copper wires from traffic signals and other parts of the city’s infrastructure near a massive homeless encampment. As a result, the lights had been malfunctioning for months.

The city attempted to prevent theft by pouring concrete over its electrical boxes, but the criminals were able to circumvent them. Finally, the city removed the traffic lights from a busy intersection and replaced them with stop signs. The outlet reported that the stop signs are temporary, but that Oakland doesn’t have a timeline on when it can put the traffic signals back up.

Residents have attributed at least one accident at the busy intersection to the lack of traffic signals. According to Oakland Police data, violent crime in the city spiked 22 percent from 2022 to 2023, and commercial burglary jumped 9 percent. Fox News reported in September that over 200 businesses closed their stores to protest the city's lack of response to public safety concerns and rising crime. City officials eventually confessed to having missed a deadline to apply for state funding to combat retail crime.