Miami

Thieves Targeting Copper in Local Park Lights

Copper thieves are targeting parks across Miami-Dade County for their crimes that are leaving kids looking to play in the dark.

Police said multiple parks have been hit over the last month including Gwen Cherry Park on 22nd Avenue, Putnam Park in Overtown, and South Point Park in Miami Beach. The theft of the copper wire South Point Park left young baseball players looking for answers.

“Parents were calling me every night, ‘are we going to be able to go back out?’” said Pete Viola, coach of the Land Crabs. “I had to tell them we are on a waiting list to get repaired and this happened at many different parks. And everybody was just like surprised and in shock.”

Miami Beach Police said they arrested Frederick Hamm in relation to the thefts, but they don’t expect the problem to go away. Miami-Dade Police also said they made an arrest.

Replacing the wires are not only expensive, but also a safety issue. It’s costing taxpayers money and forcing the parks to look more into prevention.

‘We, right now, are going to have to install security cameras to our park system, which cost more, and installing security alarms and things of that nature,” said Ricky Brown of Miami-Dade Parks.

Other preventative measures being looked at include armed guards at the parks and leaving all the lights on at night as a deterrent.

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