PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A costly crime is impacting at least three high schools in Palm Beach County.
The incidents involve scoreboards at the schools, but WPTV has learned it's not the actual scoreboard the thieves want. Instead, the crooks actually want what's inside of them.
In the past month, at least three schools confirmed with WPTV that they have been the victims of copper wire thefts after their scoreboards were targeted by thieves.
The schools affected include: Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Dr. Joaquín García High School in the Lake Worth Corridor and Royal Palm Community High.
"It's definitely surprising," Chris Crawford, who has called the Lake Worth area home for decades, said.
He told WPTV that he doesn't know why someone would do this.
"I don't know if it's people coming from a different area and doing that, but people need money for different things," Crawford said. "It's not OK; it's not the right way to go about things if they need money."
According to several metal experts, the cost of copper has spiked in recent years.
"Aluminum is about 50 cents per pound in scrap compared to copper, which is about $5 per pound in scrap," said A1 Industries Vice President John Chalhoub.
He believes that the copper thieves can often be very strategic.
"There are two different types of copper: dirty copper and clean copper," Chalhoub said. "Dirty copper is like $4 (per pound), and clean copper is like $5 per pound."
WPTV reached out to the School District of Palm Beach County about the incidents.
"Palm Beach County School Police and local law enforcement agencies are actively investigating recent incidents involving property theft on some of our campuses," said the Palm Beach County School District in a statement.
The district also added that they are working to prevent further crimes.
"In addition, the School District of Palm Beach County is taking steps to prevent these types of property thefts in the future. This includes installing additional security measures and increased patrols of our campuses."
Experts say protecting the metals can be challenging as thieves often try to work around safeguards.
The school district asked if you see anything suspicious on a school campus, please contact the Palm Beach County School Police at 561-434-8700.
