Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by Freak_NL on Friday September 05, 2025 @04:35PM (#45143299)

This year there were multiple reports of people stealing bronze sculptures from graves here in the Netherlands. Thinks butterflies, birds, and other personal memorabilia. That's a fairly new development (and a new low). Small sculptures in public parks already were the occasional target.

Railroad wiring is a common target too of course.

Guardrails seem to be immune here though.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by allenu on Friday September 05, 2025 @04:55PM (#45143490)

Similarly, in Seattle, a bronze statue was sawed off at the base and stolen about a year ago: https://southseattleemerald.org/news/2024/08/01/healing-hate...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by hirsin on Friday September 05, 2025 @05:52PM (#45144081)

We also had yet another delay on the new light rail line because the power lines were stolen... Twice, in a week.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/copper-wire-theft-l...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by daveidol on Friday September 05, 2025 @06:39PM (#45144522)

Damn junkies man

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by shawn_w on Friday September 05, 2025 @09:07PM (#45145608)

Don't forget the bronze gates at the Arboretum: https://www.historylink.org/File/22556 (though that happened in 2020).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by throwaway173738 on Saturday September 06, 2025 @12:58AM (#45146729)

As long as they leave Lenin alone, I guess.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by genewitch on Friday September 05, 2025 @06:32PM (#45144450)

why would Dutch people steal graveyard statuettes? Are things that bad in Holland right now?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by abcd_f on Friday September 05, 2025 @07:59PM (#45145131)

This was in the news. Thieves got caught. They were Romanian gypsies.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by coryrc on Friday September 05, 2025 @09:12PM (#45145629)

FYI they're not Romanian.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by fshafique on Saturday September 06, 2025 @12:25AM (#45146598)

Roma or Romani people, commonly known in Europe as gypsies, are not the same as Romanian people, although there is a large population there. You'll have to reference Wikipedia for a deeper dive.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by lmm on Saturday September 06, 2025 @02:07AM (#45147009)

It is of course entirely possible to be a Romanian gypsy, just as it's possible to be a Canadian Apache or a Syrian Kurd.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by usrusr on Friday September 05, 2025 @06:49PM (#45144595)

It does not take many to steal many little statuettes.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Freeway guardrails are now a favorite target of thieves by Broken_Hippo on Saturday September 06, 2025 @04:49AM (#45147664)

Theft is a weird crime.

You don't need things to be bad to have theft, especially of small or easy to steal things. It is one of those crimes that sticks around regardless of how "good" or "bad" things are, though admittedly it seems to be a bit less when times are good. I moved from the midwest, US to Norway - and theft seems to be one of the more common crimes. Things really aren't especially bad here from my point of view.

Regardless, You still have thrill seekers, folks that mismanage money, folks that slip through the state support cracks, drug users and alcoholics, gamblers, teens whose parents don't provide for them (both real and perceived) and so on.

[ Parent | on HN ]