TACOMA, Wash. — Catalytic converters are a hot ticket item on the black market, and as a result, Pierce County has seen a dramatic rise in catalytic converter thefts.
Numbers from the Pierce County Sheriffs Department show that more converters have been stolen in the past six months than in the past two years combined.
The device, about two feet long, removes pollutants from a vehicle’s exhaust. It contains precious metals like palladium and rhodium, which are more valuable than gold.
Authorities say removing a converter is apparently pretty simple and can take less than a minute.
So how can this be stopped?
One possible solution is a shield. The idea is if the converter is harder to get to, that may prevent thieves from trying.
“You put the shield up…a thick metal shield, and they can’t cut, it takes time to actually remove the shield," said Paul, a lead technician at an auto shop in Tacoma. “Converters are all about the quickness and ease that you need to take the converter, if you put something in place that takes more time, they’re not going do that.”
But as more converters go missing, this may turn into a necessary expense.
“A lot of people don’t know they’re out there yet,” Paul said. “But as it becomes more prevalent, you might see more advertisements on TV for them or places advertising to do it. Call around to different repair shops to find out what they charge to put them in, and have an idea what the cost is, and spend a couple hundred bucks, $500, and it could save you thousands to replace the converter and the time it takes to replace them.”
Authorities warn that this is just a deterrent, and if your vehicle is high off the ground, that makes the converter more accessible to thieves. The Pierce County Sheriffs Department is advising people to park their vehicles in a garage, or at least a well-lit area, and you can also engrave your VIN number into your converter, so it can be identified if it is stolen.