LOUISVILLE — Joined by partners from across Metro Government, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, LG&E, AT&T, and others, Mayor Greenberg announced Tuesday the formation of Louisville’s first Critical Infrastructure Task Force, aimed at tracking copper wire thefts and prosecuting criminals who steal copper wire and cause damage to public infrastructure around the city.
The task force was formed after reports of copper wire and other precious metal thefts have significantly increased in Louisville. Through August, LMPD responded to 328 reports of metal theft in 2024, with many of the crimes involving copper wire, which has seen an increase in value on the secondary market.
“From street and highway light outages to telecommunications infrastructure damage, these copper wire thieves have created major disruptions to critical infrastructure that we rely on every day,” Mayor Greenberg said. “In addition to tracking the crimes we will be closely monitoring secondary recycling companies and communicating with prosecutors and courts to make sure anyone who is caught with stolen copper wire is held accountable.”
Members of the task force have been meeting regularly throughout 2024 and are currently working to create a dashboard for tracking, analyzing, and measuring progress on reducing the frequency of copper wire thefts. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will be a key partner in those efforts, as they work to keep state road and highways lights across Louisville in operation.
“Our priority is to ensure Kentuckians are safe and that we responsibly steward taxpayer dollars,” said Executive Director of the KYTC Office of Inspector General Maryellen Mynear. “We continue to encourage the public to report any suspicious activity to help identify those involved in this criminal activity. Our ongoing solar lighting pilot project in Jefferson County is a proactive step we’re taking to evaluate their effectiveness as a potential solution to deter future copper wire theft. “
KYTC estimates it has spent more than $1 million repairing lights damaged by wire thieves over the past two years. The Mayor and Mynear were also joined at Tuesday’s announcement by leaders of LG&E and AT&T, two additional task force partners who have seen significant impacts to their infrastructure as a result of the thefts.
“At LG&E and Kentucky Utilities, safety of the public and our workforce is absolutely our first priority,” said LG&E and KU Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Jessee. “We look forward to the ongoing discussions with this task force to keep the public, our employees and our customers safe and to work together toward solutions that will deter and prevent copper theft in our community.”
“Theft and vandalism of critical communications infrastructure are serious matters that disrupt essential services for our customers, public safety and the community at large,” said Carlos E. Sanchez, president of AT&T Kentucky. “We are thankful to Mayor Greenberg and his leadership team for the focus on this issue. AT&T is offering a reward for specific and detailed information that leads to arrest and conviction for copper cable thefts or the attempted sale or purchase of stolen copper cable from AT&T anywhere in Kentucky.”
Sanchez also joined task force members to announce a total $15,000 cash reward for information that leads to the conviction of copper wire thieves. Reward dollars are provided by AT&T ($10,000) and KYTC ($5,000). Tipsters with information can remain anonymous and should call local law enforcement and AT&T Global Security & Investigations at (800) 807‐4205.
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