Street sign theft occurs when
street signs are stolen to be used as decorations or sold as scrap metal.[1] Although the theft often seems arbitrary, signs with
unusual or amusing names tend to be stolen more frequently. Sometimes considered to be a
prank by the perpetrators, the theft is often costly and inconvenient (and can possibly be dangerous) for the municipality or agency that owns the sign. In the United States, each street sign generally costs between $100 and $500 to replace.[2][3]
In law
The theft of traffic signage is typically treated like any other theft with respect to prosecution and sentencing. However, people who steal street signs may be found criminally liable for any injury or death resulting from the removal of a sign. For example, in 1997, three young adults in the United States were found guilty of
manslaughter for stealing a
stop sign which later resulted in a deadly collision. It was the first time street sign theft had led to a manslaughter charge in the country.[4][5] Thomas Miller, and his friends, Chris Cole and Nissa Baillie were sentenced to between 27 and 46 years in prison, but would go free after only five years after a judge ordered a retrial because the prosecutor had overemphasized certain evidence in her closing arguments. The prosecution declined to bring the case a second time.[6][7]
Prevention
Some jurisdictions place stickers on street signs warning of the legal punishment for their theft. Some cities (e.g.
Toronto) use specially designed bolts to attach signs and prevent removal.
With some of the more popular street names such as
Liverpool's famous "
Penny Lane", authorities gave up the practice of constantly replacing signs and simply resorted to painting the name of the street on the walls. Other jurisdictions offer replica street signs for sale as a legitimate alternative to theft. For route markers or mile markers that contain numbers with suggestive meanings, such as
69,
420, or
666, the number may be changed to avoid sign theft.[8]
After frequent thefts of its welcome sign at the town boundary, the
Austrian village of
Fucking installed theft-resistant signs in 2005.[9] The town changed its name to Fugging in 2020.[10]
De Grassi Street in Toronto has seen multiple sign thefts over the years because of its connection to the Degrassi teen television franchise.[12] According to the Globe and Mail, twelve signs were stolen in 2000 alone.[13]
All the signs of the
Dutch village
Maaskantje were stolen since the New Kids comedy sketch show on
Comedy Central (which is situated in the village) became popular (in the Netherlands,
Belgium and
Germany). The municipality of Maaskantje decided not to replace the stolen signs.[23]
In Amsterdam, signs prohibiting the consumption of cannabis were a frequent target of theft, prompting the city to offer replicas of the sign for sale.[24]
Spain
Leganés, Spain dedicated some streets to rock groups like
AC/DC,
Scorpions,
Iron Maiden and
Rosendo. The AC/DC sign was stolen days after inauguration. Leganés authorities now offer identical signs for sale.[25]
Sweden
Sweden's distinctive warning sign for
moose is noted for its tendency to be stolen, traditionally by German tourists.[26][27]
The sign "Grovare 6", pointing to the small village Grovare in Sweden, 6 km from the sign, was often stolen. "Grovare" means "rougher" in Swedish with slightly wrong grammar, and the number 6 is spelt "sex". The new sign says "Grovare 5", even though it is still 6 km.[28]
United Kingdom
The signs on
Abbey Road in London, England were often stolen by Beatles fans until the city council mounted them on buildings.[29]
Street signs on
Butt Hole Road in
England were stolen. The street was eventually renamed Archers Way in 2009.[30]
The village of
Shitterton in the
United Kingdom saw its welcome sign stolen so often that in 2007 the
local council stopped replacing it. The village's residents eventually contributed funds to buy a one-and-a-half-tonne stone slab with the town's name engraved on it as a permanent replacement.[31]
The sign for
South Park Street in
Lawrence, Kansas has been stolen on several occasions, prompting the city to install theft-proof bolts on the sign.[citation needed]
In 1988,
Denver,
Colorado began selling replica Corona Street signs after noting the signs were stolen by fans of the
beer.[33]
Brickyard Road,
Lakeside, Florida. Fans repeatedly stole the road sign because Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer
Ronnie Van Zant was living there before his death in 1977 and his brother,
Johnny Van Zant, released an album and single called Brickyard Road in 1990. The county eventually erected a
concrete pillar with the street name painted on it, as opposed to a traditional road sign.
State, provincial or federal highways in many countries may face sign theft issues if their route number has popular culture connotations. Numbers especially prone to theft include
69 because of its use as a slang term for
simultaneous oral sex,
420 because of
its connection to
marijuana culture, and
666 because of its association with the Biblical
Number of the Beast. Five highways numbered 69 in the United States have been renumbered due to sign theft: Route 69 in
New Jersey was renumbered to
Route 31 in 1967, State Route 69 in
Ohio was renumbered to
Ohio State Route 235 in 1968, State Highway 69 in
Texas was renumbered to
State Highway 112 in 1992, State Highway 69 in
South Carolina was renumbered to
South Carolina Highway 65 in 1981 and State Route 69 in
Utah was renumbered to
State Route 38 in 1994. In addition, officials in
Oregon had originally planned to assign the Route 69 designation to the Beltline Highway in Eugene in 2002 but later chose to assign
Oregon Route 569 to the route instead. However,
Interstate 69 and
US-69 have not been altered.[34][failed verification][35][36][37] Sign theft was also a factor that led to the renumbering of U.S. Route 666 to
U.S. Route 491 in 2003, with a majority of the US 666 signs stolen following the announcement of the renumbering.[38] In addition, County Route 666 in
Morris County, New Jersey was renumbered to
County Route 665 due to sign theft.[8]
U.S. Route 66 in the United States, the
subject of a 1940s pop song, also sees frequent sign theft – signs are so often stolen that in some places it can be difficult to navigate without knowing the route; furthermore, US 66 signage has not been maintained since the route was decommissioned from the U.S. Highway System in 1985.[44] Instead, some localities rely on
route shield pavement markings, which cannot be stolen, to indicate the path of the historic route.
Often in the
United States and
Canada, the sign for streets called "High St." are stolen, also for its connection to marijuana culture. In an episode of the TV series That '70s Show, several of the characters attempt to steal a High St. sign to give to
Steven Hyde for his birthday. This is less common in the
United Kingdom, as the term "
High Street" is a general term for a town's main shopping district, equivalent to
Main Street in North America.[citation needed]
In the southernmost urbanized portion of
Anchorage,
Alaska, near the
Seward Highway, a neighborhood street was called Jackass Lane. The sign at its intersection with Huffman Road, a major thoroughfare in Anchorage, was stolen so frequently during the 1970s and 1980s that the city government renamed the street to Silver Fox Lane.[citation needed]
Signs leading to
Bolinas, California were often stolen or wrongly placed by its reclusive residents as a means to make it difficult for tourists to locate the beachside town.[45]
In the early 1990s, during the popularity of the movie Batman Returns, many signs that said "Bat Cave Fire District" were stolen around the town of
Bat Cave, North Carolina. So many signs were taken that the local volunteer fire department stopped putting them back up.[46]
The sign for Blue Jay Way is said to be the most-stolen street sign in
Los Angeles, because of its association with
the Beatlessong written by George Harrison. The city eventually gave up on a metal sign and painted the street's name on the curb.[47][48]
To discourage frequent theft of signs for
Harry Baals Drive in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, replacement signs now read "H. W. Baals Dr". In 2011, civic leaders also rejected a popular proposal to name a new government building after the former mayor.[51]
In the small towns of
Embden and
New Portland, Maine, the sign for a street named Katie Crotch Road has been stolen numerous times. Residents of Embden have voted on the issue of changing the street's name to Cadie Road multiple times, including in 2016, where the motion was denied, as it had been in previous years.[52]
In Cleveland, Ohio the recently renamed "Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Way" sign was stolen shortly after it was installed.[53]