Catalytic Converter Theft Has Attention of City Council...For City Owned Cars

It was the brazen theft of 39 catalytic converters in a public parking facility for City cars which got the attention of the City Council, however the legislation planned is geared at city property and not the property of private citizens. While the motion recognized the increase in theft of catalytic converters across the county and that it represented a ``significant'' risk to taxpayers; this did not translate to protecting private property in addition to city cars. The issue of theft of catalytic converters from non-municipal or government agency cars may be addressed thru the legislative authority of County or State representatives thru public pressure.

Meeting (primegov.com)

The motion, which was introduced by Councilman Paul Krekorian and Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, instructs the chief legislative analyst to work with the Board of Public Works, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Department of General Services and other relevant departments on a report within 30 days into thefts that have occurred at city facilities over the last two years that have resulted in significant losses or damage to city assets. 

Stealing a catalytic converter does not get categorized as auto burglary because the theft is accomplished without breaking into a locked vehicle to access the part! The theft is accomplished by jacking up the car to gain access to the part. The determination of which category, petty theft (under $950 in value) or grand theft, would be based on what the thief is caught in possession of when arrested.  The aggregate value of converters from more expensive vehicles as well as those which are original equipment would quickly reach the threshold  to be cited as grand theft. 

 Interestingly, LAPD does not track the theft of catalytic converters.  However, a special crime task force was created in 2015 to address the increase in thefts. "During the 6 month long investigation, nearly a dozen catalytic converter thieves were arrested and charged with felony grand theft."  A similar impact was made in 2016 when West LA detectives and officers made multiple arrests in an organized Toyota catalytic converter theft ring. Then in March 2021 another task force was established, this time a joint effort with LAPD & LA County Sheriff.

Last March and August the LAPD & County Sheriff - partnered with local auto service providers to etch the vin number of the car onto the catalytic converter in an effort to send a message to thieves as well as offer a starting point to track the path of recovered converters. 

The best resource for statistics, given that the numbers are not tracked by law enforcement as auto theft, is National Insurance Crime Bureau.  

Catalytic converter thefts per month, from the top five states California, Texas, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Illinois, on average were

•   108 in 2018
•   282 in 2019
• 1,203 in 2020

However, a year ago, by the end of February 2021, 18 states were evaluating legislation to address the theft of catalytic converters. However, only Minnesota and Illinois were of that group of five states with the most catalytic converter thefts per month on average.

The eighteen states evaluating legislation addressing the theft of catalytic converters:

Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia  

California is the state where the overwhelming majority of catalytic converter thefts occurred during this time frame—8,072. It was followed by Texas (1,705), Illinois (1,605), Ohio (1,439) and Georgia (1,215).

The top five cities where insured thefts were reported were: Chicago (980), Sacramento (850), Los Angeles (550), Atlanta (407) and Indianapolis (353).

The full report is available here and the complete dataset is here.

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