The District of Hope has hired private security to patrol the streets following a “recent spike of wire thefts” in Hope.
According to Kevin Dicken, director of operations for the district, district staff were informed last week (Dec. 28 – Jan. 4) that the wire theft has spread from Richmond Hill to Park Street and 4th Avenue.
According to the district’s press release on Tuesday (Jan. 6), district crews have been fixing the damage caused by the theft of underground wiring and, since December, a security company has been hired to “actively patrol these areas.”
These patrols will continue as the thefts are causing repeated disruptions, are “costly, and are creating serious public safety risks including dark roadways, tripping hazards, and electrical dangers.”
In an email to the Hope Standard, RCMP said that surveillance has provided them with a “possible suspect vehicle and members are actively working to locate the vehicle and determine the extent of its involvement if any.”
“There has been a recent spike in wire thefts in the area and light poles have been the main target as well as EV charging stations,” said Cpl. Shayne Shea. “Wire theft has long been a target of thieves and it seems to be on the rise again.
“Poles on Richmond Hill have been targeted several times and most recently light poles on Park Street and 4th Avenue have been hit. We have also had the wires cut at the BC Hydro EV charging station.”
On Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 the EV charging stations located on the 400 block of Wallace Street had their charging cables stolen. As of Tuesday, new cables have been installed and the charging ports are available for the public to use.
Issues with the wires have been a concern since Oct. 30 when Hope RCMP were notified by the district that several lights along the Richmond Hill Multi-Pathway, between Exit 170 and the Silver Creek neighbourhood, had their wiring cut. Staff believe that the wires were most likely cut for “an attempted copper theft” and they’d been taking steps to try to prevent further vandalism.
As of Thursday (Jan. 8), the streetlights are still out at Richmond Hill. Dicken said that while there are plans to replace the wire for the lights they are waiting until the “situation has settled down a bit.”
“We do intend to replace it but we’re not too keen on running out there right away, to replace the wire, just for it to be stolen again,” Dicken said. “There’s a number of streets in the community that have street lights. And if residents notice all of a sudden that there’s no power outage in their home, and the streetlights have gone out, there may be something happening.
“We want people to be aware that this theft is occurring in the community. And, the more eyes we have on streetlight infrastructure the better off we are to try and catch whoever is doing this.”
Anyone with information, or who notices suspicious activity around roadside infrastructure, streetlights, and electrical boxes, is asked to call the RCMP immediately at 604-869-7750. If a crime is in progress the public is asked to call 911 instead.