As sad as it is to admit I think you will find this in most neighborhoods. Scary isn't it ?

So what causes this problem? Are the covers that difficult to attach correctly? Or, is there another use for them? Just where do they go?

To the Junkyard for drug money!

Yes, I see this type of stuff all over. By whom: typically it is shopping center maintenance staff, or in the case of public lots and streets, city maintenance staff. (My wife tells me to keep my eyes on my plate when we are in restaurant patio dining areas; they are the worst: orange cords through doorways to food warmers, and zip cords to x-mas lights!!)

I think it's more toward maintenance people!
inspection plates & screws disimular metals. screw or bolt head breaks off at time of maintenance and or repair and nobody knows what an easy out is & taping it back on only lasts a week or two.
I cant see there being a whole lot of value at a scrap yard for these cover plates

I think BELder has hit it on the nose. It just comes down to poor work ethics. People remove these covers and lose the screws/bolts or twist them off and just leave it. I worked for a guy who gave me all kinds of hell because I took the time to drill and tap a light pole in order to replace the hand hole cover. I was told to hold it in place and put some tape around the pole to hold it ! Wasn't much longer that I packed my things and moved on .

[This message has been edited by luckyshadow (edited 06-13-2005).]

Look here for theft of covers:
http://www.philadelphiacontroller.org/livewire.html
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=7202