Road sign thefts ongoing problem
February 10, 2016
Charlea Mills
Recently, there has been an influx in sign thefts in Barry County. According to Mike Phillips, the Barry County E9-1-1 director, the sign thefts can have damaging consequences.
In the past two weeks, 22 signs have been taken from an area off of State Highway Z in the Pleasant Ridge area. The signs, which are property of Barry County E9-1-1, have been replaced with the bill totaling around $1,200 so far.
Phillips said, “They aren’t thinking of the impact of taking a sign if it’s their family member needing the ambulance. They need to think before they take that sign.” Sign thefts can have potentially fatal side effects if emergency personnel are unable to locate a property because there aren’t any signs indicating street names.
As of right now, the signs that have been stolen are all signs from Farm Roads 2010, 1125 and 1150. Phillips said, “Yes, they impact us financially, but also slow our response time, causes errors or creates issues for an emergency vehicle when they take that sign.”
The Barry County Sheriff’s Department responded to the recent thefts by adding additional patrol to that area, hoping to catch the thieves in the act. Since the signs are stamped as property of Barry County E9-1-1, they are stamped and cannot be sold for scrap metal, suggesting that the thefts are a result of prank-related vandalism.
Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly said, “We have some nighttime officers patrolling it more heavily to see if we can catch someone taking them down. It’s a sad deal with them taking these signs down, because it could be their own lives. They might need to call 911 and whether it is a deputy, ambulance or fire, they are putting their own lives and others in jeopardy.”
When asked if he had any suspicions as to who was committing the thefts, Epperly said, “It’s probably younger people doing it and just not thinking.”
He continued, “If anyone knows who is doing it, they can call us and remain anonymous, and we’ll take it from there.”
Barry County’s rural roads have been renamed since the inception of the E9-1-1 dispatch center to make it more efficient for emergency personnel to find addresses, however, when the signs are removed, the change in system is somewhat of a moot point. Phillips said, “They don’t think about an ambulance missing a turn at night because of a missing sign, and that could happen.”
Phillips concluded, “Their destruction could potentially affect someone’s emergency response.”
If you have information regarding the sign thefts, you can reach the Barry County Sheriff’s Department and emergency services by calling (417) 847-4911 or the Sheriff’s Office at (417) 847-6556.
Charlea Mills
Recently, there has been an influx in sign thefts in Barry County. According to Mike Phillips, the Barry County E9-1-1 director, the sign thefts can have damaging consequences.
In the past two weeks, 22 signs have been taken from an area off of State Highway Z in the Pleasant Ridge area. The signs, which are property of Barry County E9-1-1, have been replaced with the bill totaling around $1,200 so far.
Phillips said, “They aren’t thinking of the impact of taking a sign if it’s their family member needing the ambulance. They need to think before they take that sign.” Sign thefts can have potentially fatal side effects if emergency personnel are unable to locate a property because there aren’t any signs indicating street names.
As of right now, the signs that have been stolen are all signs from Farm Roads 2010, 1125 and 1150. Phillips said, “Yes, they impact us financially, but also slow our response time, causes errors or creates issues for an emergency vehicle when they take that sign.”
The Barry County Sheriff’s Department responded to the recent thefts by adding additional patrol to that area, hoping to catch the thieves in the act. Since the signs are stamped as property of Barry County E9-1-1, they are stamped and cannot be sold for scrap metal, suggesting that the thefts are a result of prank-related vandalism.
Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly said, “We have some nighttime officers patrolling it more heavily to see if we can catch someone taking them down. It’s a sad deal with them taking these signs down, because it could be their own lives. They might need to call 911 and whether it is a deputy, ambulance or fire, they are putting their own lives and others in jeopardy.”
When asked if he had any suspicions as to who was committing the thefts, Epperly said, “It’s probably younger people doing it and just not thinking.”
He continued, “If anyone knows who is doing it, they can call us and remain anonymous, and we’ll take it from there.”
Barry County’s rural roads have been renamed since the inception of the E9-1-1 dispatch center to make it more efficient for emergency personnel to find addresses, however, when the signs are removed, the change in system is somewhat of a moot point. Phillips said, “They don’t think about an ambulance missing a turn at night because of a missing sign, and that could happen.”
Phillips concluded, “Their destruction could potentially affect someone’s emergency response.”
If you have information regarding the sign thefts, you can reach the Barry County Sheriff’s Department and emergency services by calling (417) 847-4911 or the Sheriff’s Office at (417) 847-6556.