(AP) — Lawrence police are looking for help finding a thief who’s been stealing downtown parking meters.
The thief has apparently used a pipe cutter, or a similar tool, to saw off at least five parking meter posts since April.

At least two parking meters were also reported stolen in Lawrence in 2010, though it’s not clear how they were removed.

Police say the destruction of parking meters is far more costly than the loss of the coins in the meter. The cost to replace the post and meter heads is about $800 for the single meters and $1600 for dual-meter assemblies.

Police are asking business owners, residents and visitors to call 911 if they see someone tampering with a parking meter.