The University of California's Daily Californian, in an article reporting on a rash of vandalized and looted parking meters throughout the city of Berkeley, April 7, 1998:

Berkeley police Capt. Bobby Miller said thieves generally use a tool to knock the meter head off or they saw it off. "Apparently people have figured out a way to get a tool to pry the heads off," Miller said. He added that if caught, a parking meter thief could face felony charges.

But it is exactly those charges that has upset L.A. Wood, a self-described Berkeley activist, whose son was arrested on Telegraph Avenue in June for attempting to steal the head of a meter. He said the parking meters present an easy target for juveniles who "do not know any better." "I think that one of the unfortunate legacies of Berkeley is the public meters' impact on Berkeley youth," Wood said. Wood suggested that juvenile meter thieves should receive citations when they are caught. "We shouldn't be traumatizing children," Wood said.

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