This fall, Pullman has seen an uptick in a very specific crime — theft of street signs.

This practice, while it may seem humorous and juvenile, is also dangerous and reckless. Pullman is burdened with the responsibility and cost of making up for these thieves’ thoughtless behavior, and public safety is put at risk.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant told the Evergreen in an article on Aug. 22 that these kinds of crimes are common when students come back for the fall. He said students will go to great lengths to remove these signs from the street.

“Sometimes,” he said, “we will see people walking down the street with the whole sign and the concrete ball sticking off the end of their shoulder.”
This raises the question of why anyone would put so much effort into taking something that is serving an important purpose.

Tennant said that sometimes, it is people visiting Pullman, rather than WSU students or Pullman residents, who are stealing these signs. Some think a street sign would make a good souvenir.
“A lot of times, when we arrest people,” Tennant said, “it’s not our local students causing the problem. It’s [their] friends.”

People who are coming to Pullman to visit friends might not feel as connected to the community as those of us who live here. These people should ask themselves how they would feel if someone disrespected their home and vandalized public property where they lived.

Pullman Public Works is responsible for replacing these stop signs. In the interest of public safety, the city is forced to act quickly and take time and money to make up for someone else’s poor decision. The residents of Pullman are the ones who end up paying for this.

On top of the cost to the city and the obvious disrespect that these vandals are showing for public property, street sign theft is just dangerous and wrong. These signs exist for a reason, and by removing them, thieves are putting drivers and pedestrians at risk.

Tennant said drivers should be careful if they see a sign missing where they know there should be one.

“If you know there’s not a sign and there should be a sign, you need to be more cautious,” Tennant said. “It doesn’t do any good to get in a traffic accident and then start pointing fingers.”
To those who think this crime is a harmless prank, think about those who are driving or walking on our streets, those who are put at risk when a stop sign is stolen. These people should think about all the fellow residents of Pullman who will pay for their mistake.

Think about the public employees who are forced to spend valuable time replacing something that should not have been taken in the first place. Anyone who has friends visiting should make sure that they respect our town and our community, and keep Pullman a great place to live.