And with candidates reporting hundreds of signs missing, the offense could creep into grand theft territory, depending on the circumstances.
Candidate Gary Bric — whose primary election vote count topped the pool of four candidates advancing to the general election in April — estimated losses of about 200 signs, based on supporters' reports.
"I've been losing quite a few of them," Bric said. "But unless you catch somebody in the act, you can't point fingers. I would hope people would have the integrity to not take down people's signs. I've lost my fair share, just like everyone has."
Purchasing 1,000 signs costs between $2,400 and $2,500, amounting to a little more than $2 per sign, Bric said.
Between 200 and 300 Philip and Carolyn Berlin campaign signs have disappeared over the course of the campaign, Carolyn Berlin said. Though neither Carolyn nor Philip Berlin has filed police reports, some supporters have done so on their own, she added.
The Burbank Police Department treats these sorts of incidents no differently than any other theft in the city, Sgt. Kevin Grandalski said.
"Usually around the election time of year we always get some report of the theft of signs," he said.
"The officers will knock on some doors in the neighborhood to see if anybody saw anything. But a theft is a theft. It's not going to get any extra attention because it's political signs."
Those convicted of theft could face from 18 months to three years in prison.
Candidate Anja Reinke said that about 150 of her campaign signs had been stolen over the course of the campaign, 25 in one night. That kind of a number at one time seems to suggest that it was not a random teenage prank, she added.
"Every day I have signs stolen," she said.
"It's a non-stop job trying to keep up and replace them."
