What's the Liability of a Live Wire?

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — There is now a shocking new strategy to fight copper crime. Street lights are now staying on 24-hours a day in one Sacramento neighborhood and the city is banking on live wires to keep criminals away.

sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/05/05/city-takes-unique-approach-to-detour-copper-thieves/#comments


...a comment on this article seemed interesting:

"A few years ago, I had a car stereo store and I was broke into twice through the air conditioning unit. When I suggested to the police that I would remove a ground wire and make it “hot” they warned me that if someone got hurt or killed, because of my intent to harm that I would be prosecuted. But it is OK now if the government does it?"


...what does P&tM think?

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Metal theft is a big problem here in Sacramento. Just keeping the wires live isn't a real deterrent, a few months ago a large power outage was caused by thieves cutting a live high voltage line to steal the wire. A few weeks later some bonehead got fried when he tried to cut a live high voltage line with bolt cutters. Even roadside guard rails are being stolen.

[Tennesseer]

From the article:

"The city now figures keeping them (street lights) turned on will save money, by warding off copper thieves; keeping the lights on mean live wires, and the unlucky thief who doesn’t know better could be electrocuted."

I am not an electrician so I don't understand the statement. How are having the street lights on going to create a live wire and electrocute someone? Are they saying thieves are climbing the light poles and taking copper out of the lighting units? Where would a thief be in contact with a live wire?

Or are they saying thieves are trying to get the copper in the transformers and power stations.

I do understand the comment from the article in the OP. But the street lights I don't understand.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...you and me both, TN... granted, while I'm curious about "the how" in letting thieves face immediate consequences to their theft, I'm equally curious in "the why" and its affect on the politics of "do as I say, not as I do," as well as the market forces acting upon potentially migratory burglars...

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Leaving the power on does not create a hazardous situation to the average person, only to someone trying to cut and remove the wires. It's the copper wires the thieves are after, they sell it to metal recyclers. In the case of the guy wanting to remove the ground from his HVAC unit, it would have made the entire unit "hot". Anybody touching it, from a burglar to somebody doing other legitimate work could have been electrocuted.

[Deleted]

Sounds cheaper than cops.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

In California, governments are shielded from the liability that would impact most people through a complex set of governmental immunity laws. I would think that these immunities would be in play here, keeping any electrocuted criminal (or his heirs) from successfully suing.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

May 8, 2011 14:21:29 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

Honestly, are these thieves real geniuses or what? If the light is on, power is flowing. If you cut into a wire with electricity flowing through it you will become the new ground. What do they teach these days? Sounds like we need to nominate a few for "Darwin" awards, i.e. those who most improve humanities gene pool by taking themselves out of it before reproducing.

It can be done relatively safely with the right tools. Back when I worked in the maintenance field, most of my wire cutting tools were insulated to 600V, far higher than street light voltage (which is usually 460). I also wore boots which had soles insulated at 600V.

But yeah, the Einstein who used bolt cutters is definitely up for a Darwin.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Another reason we need tort reform. A simple law that stated that injury sustained or death that results as a direct result of the commission of a crime is the responsiblity of the person or persons found to have committed the crime would solve a lot of these problems. This constant assault on law abiding citizens by bestowing all authority (but no responsibility) to government and turning nature on its head by restraining free people from protecting their lives and property has to stop someplace. At the very least we could make sure that "whatever happens, happens" to criminals committing crimes.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

<<< This constant assault on law abiding citizens by bestowing all authority (but no responsibility) to government and turning nature on its head by restraining free people from protecting their lives and property has to stop someplace. >>>

...it does bring to mind, however, how Hollywood didn't explain how "illegal" some of those booby-traps were in the movie, "Home Alone."