Thieves target restroom hardware at schools

Two Ewa Beach schools are repairing several restrooms after one or more thieves made away with toilet flushing mechanisms, sink drainage pipes, metal plates on the floor and other fixtures.

The first theft took place about two weeks ago at Ilima Intermediate and the most recent on Friday, when two restrooms at adjacent Campbell High School were hit.

Police are investigating and believe they have one or more suspects.

The fixtures were probably stolen to sell as scrap metal. But while the repairs will be expensive, the fixtures probably won’t net much, said Bruce Iverson, director of marketing at Reynolds Recycling.

He estimated that the flushing mechanisms, if they are considered "contaminated brass," could go for 50 cents a pound. The sink drainage pipes probably can’t be sold.

Iverson said thefts of public property generally result in "minimal amounts of money" for the thieves and "huge costs to the city and state."

School officials could not immediately say how much the repairs to the bathrooms will cost.

The earliest thefts at the schools were during the weekend of Jan. 20 at Ilima, said Principal John Henry Lee.

He said it appears one or more thieves broke into two restrooms and took just about every fixture they could find.

A few days later another restroom was hit during school hours.

Similar thefts took place at Campbell High around the same time.

Thefts on Friday spurred the school to restrict some restroom use because officials assumed the missing fixtures were the work of students.

But Monday the school said vandalism was no longer suspected.

Campbell Vice Principal Wayne Gue­vara said the school hasn’t seen thefts of fixtures before, though thieves have targeted other things.

Most notably, in 2007, copper wiring from Campbell High’s field lights was stolen, leaving its stadium dark.

Campbell and Ilima are next to each other, and Gue­vara said it appears that fixtures were also stolen from some nearby community park restrooms.

This isn’t the first time thieves have targeted restrooms. In 2006 more than 100 toilet flush valves were stolen from dozens of parks.

In recent years thieves have also gone after everything from light poles to fire hydrants.

Reynolds’ Iverson said while he has heard of thieves stealing fixtures from public bathrooms, he hasn’t heard of thieves going after fixtures at schools before, probably because school restrooms are more secure.

Of the Ewa Beach thefts, he said, "This is unusual."