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Kudos to the New Mexico House of Representatives for its unanimous understanding that thugs who steal wire and cable put the public at serious risk. Now the New Mexico Senate needs to plug into that reasoning.
The House voted 60-0 last week to approve HB 57, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Española. It would make cable and wire theft a felony if the theft causes an outage that affects the public. The current penalty essentially is larceny pegged to the value of the stolen wire — with no regard to the all-too-predictable serious impact of the crime.
An identical bill, SB 28 by Sen. Steve Neville, R-Farmington, is stalled in the Senate’s Judiciary Committee because some members believe that’s too harsh.
What do those lawmakers call not having 911 service because a thief cut the lines in order to try to get fast cash at the recycling center?
Or risking life and limb at a railroad crossing because a thief cut the wire to the crossing lights and cross arms in order to make a few bucks?
Or watching a business owner lose monthly rent and get hit with a $500,000 repair bill because thieves cut out all the copper pipe and wire from an empty restaurant?
All have been reported in the Metro area. Albuquerque Police Department officer George Trujillo says there were more than 600 incidents of wire/metal theft last year, primarily involving drug abusers trying to support their habits.
Yet Neville said Senate Democrats on the committee forced tabling of the bill because “it would be too hard to be putting people in jail, that sometimes they’re disadvantaged, and it stays on their record.”
It is also “hard” to not be able to reach 911 in an emergency, safely cross a railroad track without signals and recover from a half million dollars in damage. It can also be crippling if not deadly to cut live wires, as many local thieves who have detoured to the hospital before jail have discovered.
Elevating this crime to a felony when it hurts the public at large could help deter thieves from risking their lives and the lives of others. And, as Neville points out, there are “pre-prosecutorial programs and all kinds of things where people can stay out of jail, or even avoid having the felony on their records if they’re willing to take certain steps ahead of time.”
Lawmakers have the opportunity to do something meaningful here. The Senate should join the House and vote to protect the public at large as well as those tempted to short-circuit its safety for what seems like easy money.
