Posted on 10/24/2022 8:02:29 AM PDT by real saxophonist
Boulder Police give away hundreds of catalytic converter anti-theft kits
Latest effort to prevent one of the fastest-growing crimes in Colorado
By: Brandon Richard
Oct 22, 2022
BOULDER, Colo. – The Boulder Police Department gave away hundreds of catalytic converter anti-theft kits on Saturday, an effort to address one of the fastest growing crimes in the state of Colorado.
Thieves can make thousands of dollars stealing and selling catalytic converters, which contain highly sought-after metals.
“They can oftentimes get a couple hundred dollars from those metals and that's just for a couple of minutes work,” said Mitch Trujillo, the community services officer for the Boulder Police Department. “It ends up being pretty profitable for a thief.”
It can also be expensive for car owners to replace, depending on the type of car.
“Between $2,000 and $4,000 to replace,” Trujillo said.
A Denver7 investigation earlier this year found thieves stole nearly 4,000 catalytic converters since 2020 in Denver and Boulder alone.
Those thefts have become a big concern for people like Darren Carbary.
“With the increase of theft nowadays, you know, it’s really scary,” Carbary said. “I think about it all the time. You know, we do off street parking so you never know anybody can come and get that. It’s thousands of dollars.”
That’s why he signed up to get an anti-theft kit from the Boulder Police Saturday.
The kit contains material, including dye, that will allow drivers or their mechanic to etch a VIN onto their catalytic converter.
That number then becomes part of law enforcement databases.
“It actually records it with the State of Colorado,” Trujillo said.
Police say etching helps them track stolen catalytic converters and makes it harder for thieves to sell one.
In addition to the catalytic converter kit, Boulder Police also handed out steering wheel club locks to owners of cars that are at high risk for theft.
According to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, the top stolen vehicles during the first half of 2022 included the Chevrolet Silverado, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Sportage, Kia Optima, Hyundai Elantra, Ford F-250, Hyundai Tucson, Honda Civic, GMC Sierra and Honda Accord.
It's been a couple of years now, but mine was stolen out from under my Honda Element. And I know of at least two other Elements that were hit that night.
Took three months before I could get it back on the road legally.
Hmm. If your state doesn’t require vehicle emission tests (aka Florida) is there any reason to steal the converter ??
Happens a lot here and everywhere.
A local Plumbing company had all it’s vehicles disabled.
Make it illegal to sell to junkyards...make huge penalties for providing a market to sell. Photo ID required enforce regulation, Photo of seller, serial# on converter, stop illegals from coming into the U.S. Whatever, this shouldn’t be so hard. BTW, the amount is a felony.
They're at least going to have to do something about the vehicle being loud as hell.
Police say etching helps them track stolen catalytic converters and makes it harder for thieves to sell one.....Yes, because the chop shops and mechanics that buy these stolen catalytic converters really care about a number etched on.
In addition to the catalytic converter kit, Boulder Police also handed out steering wheel club locks to owners of cars that are at high risk for theft...Are they the same steering wheel clubs that thieves just cut the steering wheel and then remove the club? I remember watching a car thief demonstrate how long it took him to bypass one of them for a news crew. It was ridiculous.
I had the same thought. It is illegal almost everywhere to sell a used catalytic converter unless you fill out tons of paperwork.
The chop shops don’t care about that paperwork. So why should they care about a VIN etching?
“Hmm. If your state doesn’t require vehicle emission tests (aka Florida) is there any reason to steal the converter ??”
Up to 30 grams of platinum group metals.
Exhaust pipes are not made of carbon steel, but expanded metal sheeting often is. Get a section approx 2’ by 4’, and bolt it to the frame (or use self tappers when fastening to a unibody frame).
That will allow for air to flow through, but will be too much cutting for the crook looking for his usual 5-10 minute heist.
Perforated carbon sheet metal would work in the same fashion.
“Boulder Police give away hundreds of catalytic converter anti-theft kits”
the most effective anti-theft “kit” would be a sufficient length of rope with a hangman’s noose pre-tied to one end ...
Thieves will steal them because they can be resold. I like the idea of etching the VIN on them, but would go one step further...make sure the thieves get suitable punishment they would remember if they ever get ideas about repeating the offense. Laws of certain countries would possibly call for removal of a hand for theft. That would at least slow a thief down, possibly long enough to get caught in the act. There are other possibilities if LE wanted to get more creative.
The loudness of the vehicle that is minus a converter would vary. Some might not even be noticeable if necessary piping is replaced.
They steal the converter to sell for filthy Lucre. Maybe you meant to ask the question, why replace the CC with another. Put a straight pipe on it. I know this is what I have done in the past, but newer cars need that back pressure to run correctly. Computers and such make this a must.
With all the computer sensors monitoring the vehicles emissions system, some new models may not be able to run. On my 2013 F350 Diesel, if the DEF sensors fail, the truck goes into limp-mode, and you better have at least $2,500 you can spend to get it fixed
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.