Catalytic converter thefts in California

https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2021-08-02/catalytic-converter-theft-essential-california

by turtlegrids • 5 years ago

42 56 5 years ago

b_emery2• 5 years ago

My was stolen last year ($3k and 3 weeks to replace), and at the advice of the muffler shop I got one of these, for $200 installed (so far so good): https://www.catstrap.net/

The key is that it would just take a lot longer to steal.

toomuchtodo• 5 years ago

I only wish Costco would sell and install these for folks (using their purchase power and distribution network to soften the cost). Cheap insurance in areas where this sort of activity is endemic.

andrewmcwatters2• 5 years ago

I worry about systems like this, because if I were a thief and you pissed me off with the addition of the siren versus just the protective layer, I’d slash your tires and break all of your windows then run off.

So if I’m thinking this, how much worse will an actual criminal behave? Setting a car on fire only costs $5.

genocidicbunny3• 5 years ago

Then next time it won't be just a siren but something more injurious.

And if you start setting cars on fire, the cops won't be so lax about catching you.

dmitrygr• 5 years ago

once maybe, twice maybe. Eventually you get caught, and arson will get you jail, even with SF's current DA

sushid• 5 years ago

Sounds like an extremely poor argument for letting criminals do whatever they want. Do you keep your house/car door unlocked just in case a criminal would like to take a gander? What if the thief throws a brick at the windows and the runs off?

LeoPanthera3• 5 years ago

This says more about you than it does about the product, or of thieves.

b_emery2• 5 years ago

I would think that they're in a hurry, see the extra stuff, and move on. The thought had crossed my mind however.

stjohnswarts2• 5 years ago

Most thieves don't have time for that, they'd rather move on to the next car. why would they want to waste all the energy and attract attention? I suppose a crazed methhead might do it.

xtiansimon• 5 years ago

Sounds like you’re describing theft and harassment.

CamperBob2• 5 years ago

Just a reminder that we already have more than 800,000 police officers in this country, so that's probably not the problem. It must be something else.

Red_Leaves_Flyy• 5 years ago

The problem is poverty and a general lack of opportunity.

Proven• 5 years ago

I was poor and didn't even think to steal other people's shit

tomjen3• 5 years ago

That is solvable by jacking up the change of getting caught and the punishment metered out until it doesn't happen.

topspin• 5 years ago

There is no problem. Just pay your ever inflating insurance premiums quietly. Justice is being served.

korethr• 5 years ago

The number of police officers in an area is only part of it. Said officers must also be permitted by the policies they operate under to take effective actions that stop or deter the thefts. You could have enough officers and vehicles to have a patrol unit every other block at all hours of the day, but if department policy is such that doing anything other than witnessing the theft and taking a report afterward results in getting fired, odds are, the cops aren't going to be stopping many thefts.

hourislate• 5 years ago

Possible solution. Don't allow wrecking yards to buy them unless they are attached to a car. At that point they are worthless because the thieves will have no where to sell them. Now if the thieves decide to cut them open and take out the platinum, palladium or rhodium, don't allow the wrecker to buy it without taking the persons identification and contact information which will be sent to law enforcement.

nielsbot• 5 years ago

I thought scrappers were already required to keep records of who sells to them for just this reason.

I found this: https://iscrapapp.com/scrap-laws/

rtkwe• 5 years ago

They're supposed to but there's unscrupulous people in every industry and these could even get sold to middle men who take them out of the country for processing.

kasey_junk• 5 years ago

Every yard near me (Southside Chicago) requires provenance in the form of a title or proof of purchase of a new converter. Further they won’t (ostensibly) buy more than 1 converter at a time. Hasn’t made a dent in thefts.

Like most things, I’m sure globalization has come to this “industry” and you’ll find they are great products to ship back in all those empty containers our trade surplus provides.

polotics• 5 years ago

You meant trade deficit, not surplus.

bmarquez• 5 years ago

I suspect that if wrecking yards banned them, thieves will just ship the catalytic converters overseas, just like they do with stolen locked iPhones.

mulmen2• 5 years ago

Catalytic converters are a wear part. I shouldn’t have to scrap my car to do maintenance.

mc32• 5 years ago

Could be like lead acid batteries. You buy a new one and return the old one. You just can’t sell it used or buy it used from individuals.

francisofascii• 5 years ago

Why is California a hotbed for these crimes?

vondur• 5 years ago

Because we have stopped persecuting most non violent crimes here.

jdavis7032• 5 years ago

Stealing a $3k catalytic converter is a felony. It would absolutely be prosecuted (or plea bargained) if the cops find the thieves.

sudosysgen• 5 years ago

Lmao, the police aren't going to look for your cats anywhere. And if they do catch someone in the act, they will arrest them, it'd a felony.

foxyv• 5 years ago

Speaking as a person who has experienced 3 burglaries and 5 car part thefts in California here. Typically, in most jurisdictions in CA, police will only become involved in property crime if it involves a public building like a school. They know who signs their checks and prioritize according to the city council and mayor.

So if someone steals your catalytic converter, don't just call the police. Show up at the city council and make a stink.

PS: Shout out to the Norco CA sheriff's department. That was a police department that actually POLICED. They would investigate the heck out of property crime.

d6ba56c039d92• 5 years ago

Besides being (I would guess) slightly more crime-friendly than other places, I'll bet part of the problem is the expense of catalytic converters in CA. They are probably worth a lot more as spares than as raw materials.

It seems to me that CARB forces people to buy OEM parts, or at least some kind of on-a-list part for $$$.

bitwise-evan• 5 years ago

You are not legally allowed to sell or install used cats in CA: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/aftermarket-catalytic-converters

I wonder if shops will still install used (stolen) units regardless? Or maybe they are just being shipped out of state or broken down for raw materials.

stjohnswarts2• 5 years ago

it's happening all over. Might be a little more lax in Cali because of lenient laws/prosecutors on stealing stuff though. I assure you it's happening in urban areas of texas and has gone up 200-1000% the past couple of years depending on the city

cafard• 5 years ago

Is it, particularly? I live in Washington, DC, and the neighborhood listserv was full of catalytic converter theft postings last winter and spring. Why my neighborhood? I guess because of the number of persons who can afford will buy Priuses.

olivermarks• 5 years ago

https://youtu.be/bpuAv0sTh-w useful video on where they go https://youtu.be/53Ru0whEbCA processing video

kriskrunch3• 5 years ago

Nice videos! It's really sad to see how little this guy recovers from the cats in the second video.

That's a Honda Element in the first video, one of the more popular targets.

Here's a rough list of the most popular: Toyota Tundra Toyota Prius Toyota Tacoma Ford F-250 Honda Element & CRV

It's easier to steal them out of trucks and SUV's because of the ground clearance.

Learned about this a year and a half ago when my GF's cat was stolen from her Element, parked in front of my house in Los Angeles.

LeoPanthera3• 5 years ago

An unexpected but welcome bonus for being an EV owner - no cat to steal!

(The lack of oil, and brake pads that last the life of the car, are also perks that don't often get discussed.)

powerbroker• 5 years ago

You know, that Tesla, for about 6 months in the mid 2010s, routinely swapped batteries at a road-side site in California. I just hope that the hoodlums don't learn how to do that too. Don't let all that EV smugness go to your head. There are plenty of reasons to have a few ICE vehicles around. I hate to think of which type of vehicle suffers more when there is an X-Class solar flare on the scale of a Carrington event.

bognition• 5 years ago

Back in college my roommates 10 year old car died because the on board computer for fried. That car was made in the 90s. Just because gas cars burn fossil fuels doesn’t mean they don’t have electronic components.

LeoPanthera3• 5 years ago

You seem to be imagining problems that do not exist.

The battery swap facility was for the Tesla Model S only, and the battery cannot be removed as if it was a Duracell. It needed to be disconnected with a specialized robot.

Current battery packs are even harder to remove - even if "battery pack theft squads" were a thing, which they aren't.

As for the solar flare - this sounds like a problem for science fiction. The chassis of the car is a faraday cage! They survive getting struck by lightning!

throwawaysea• 5 years ago

They are all over the west coast period. In Portland and Seattle they even take place in broad daylight.

underseacables• 5 years ago

I knew a man in Los Angeles that had his stolen twice, weeks after getting a new one.

neonate• 5 years ago

https://archive.is/bGjjz

Catalytic converter thefts in California

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