Your cat might be a little safer moving forward.
- The US Department of Justice has tackled a massive, national catalytic converter theft ring with over 20 arrests.
- This crackdown on catalytic converter theft spans from the street level to the processing level, and could have implications nationally.
- Catalytic converter theft is up hundreds of percent over the last few years.
The catalytic converter is a marvel of modern engineering. Take an internal combustion engine’s exhaust fumes and force them through an tube stuffed with precious metals that react to the gases: That’s your cat. The problem, as it turns out, is that those precious metals inside your catalytic converter are actually precious metals, which means they are a major target of theft. The US Department of Justice has recently targeted a massive network of catalytic converter thieves and is seeking over $500 million in forfeiture from the alleged criminals.
The DOJ says that it has made 21 arrests in five states and notes that it’s made “arrests, searches, and seizures” in the following states: California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia. (If you live in one of the other 41 states in the US, it probably goes without saying, catalytic converter theft is a problem there too.)
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converter theft increased substantially over the last few years. As reported by the North American Dealer’s Association, the NICB says there were over 52,000 reported catalytic converter thefts, which is up from the 1300 reported thefts in 2018. It’s likely that those are only a fraction of total thefts due to under reporting.
The good news is that the bust up of this national syndicate could cause a ripple effect downstream and help curb the demand for stolen cats, which would then slow catalytic converter theft, though that will take time to realize. So until there is a major sweeping decline in cat theft, it’s probably in your best interest to give your car the best chance at avoiding a costly theft.
Protecting your catalytic converter, unfortunately, is easier said than done. You could drive a vehicle that predates the Clean Air Act, which means driving a vehicle built before 1975—a viable solution for some, but not exactly a sweeping fix. You could also pivot to an electric vehicle, or stuff your daily driver into your locked garage, if you are lucky enough to have a garage in the first place. Or you could modify your car with one of the many catalytic converter theft prevention tools out there, but those will likely only slow someone trying to steal your cat.
Hopefully, more of these criminal rings fall and cat thefts decline, but in the meantime, it’s best to be mindful of where you park your car, making sure a thief has the lowest chance of snagging your cat to begin with.
Wesley Wren Wesley Wren has spent his entire life around cars, whether it’s dressing up as his father’s 1954 Ford for Halloween as a child, repairing cars in college or collecting frustrating pieces of history—and most things in between.
Keyword: DOJ Tackles $545 Million Catalytic Converter Theft Ring