Movie May Have Inspired Rash of Parking Meter Thefts

It may not be the most lucrative kind of crime, but police are searching for parking meter bandits who have been terrorizing public parking lots in the downtown area this week.

Authorities and the city’s Public Works Department say seven parking meters have been stolen in less than a week, with the robbers apparently using a pipe cutter to remove the meters from their poles.

But officials said the robbers, for all their trouble, have not netted much cash.

“Each meter can hold about $50 to $60 in coins, but we always empty them before they ever get full,” said Jon Vos, the city’s director of street and field services. “They’re probably only getting about $20 or $30 per meter. The cost of the meter itself is a lot more than that.”

Assistant Public Works Director Kerry Morford said he thinks the crimes may have been inspired by the Paul Newman movie “Cool Hand Luke,” which shows parking meters being robbed effortlessly.

“Apparently it was shown on TV recently. We feel that’s part of what has spurred this,” said Morford, adding that the movie has inspired other meter knockoffs in the past.

Five stolen meters were the “duplex” or double-sided type, for which the city paid about $850 each, while the other two were single-sided meters that cost about $425 each, Vos said.

There are roughly 2,000 parking meters in the downtown area, all of which are newer, electronic models with digital time counters and were installed within the past three years, city officials said.

Vos said he believes all seven meters were stolen by the same person or persons because they were all within a three-block area. Six were in two public parking lots on Harvard Street, and the seventh was a curbside meter on Orange Street.

Police said they are investigating the crimes, although they have no suspects.