Huge rise in catalytic converter thefts, police say

Thefts almost double in one year as prices of precious metals skyrocket

Huge rise in catalytic converter thefts, police say
Image: Bigstock.

There has been a significant rise in catalytic converters being stolen from cars in 2019, police in London have said.

For the first six months of 2019, the number of thefts of catalytic converters in the capital jumped to 2,894, compared to 1,674 thefts for all of 2018.

Garages in a Worcestershire town have also recently been hit by a spate of catalytic converter thefts, leaving businesses out of pocket by tens of thousands of pounds.

The prices of certain precious metals have skyrocketed in the last 18 months – palladium is now worth £1,300/oz, while rhodium goes for £4,000/oz, according to FJ Church and Sons, a specialist metals merchant that is also the UK’s largest specialist in recycling catalytic converters.

Related: Garages hit by spate of catalytic converter thefts

Police are urging vehicle owners “to be vigilant” and consider taking safety measures to protect their cars.

Advice to owners includes marking catalytic converters with a serial number to make it distinctive, placing a protective covering over the catalytic converter, installing CCTV and alarms.

It’s also advised that cars should be parked so as to prevent access underneath.

Toyota has said it is “doing all [it] can” to support its customers who have been victims of crime.

Besides consulting with the police and offering customers safety tips, Toyota has developed “Catloc”, a device which makes it harder for thieves to detach the catalytic converter from the bottom of the car.

A Toyota spokesman said: “Although ‘cat theft’ is not new, or limited to Toyota products, it has always been comparatively rare; however, the recent rise in the value of such parts for recycling has meant that police forces have seen a very significant rise in these offences in the last few months.”

Related: Woman disturbs thieves attempting to steal her car’s catalytic converter

Honda attempted to tackle the problem on its Accord and Jazz models from 2008 onwards with a tray under the car to make it harder for thieves to get at the catalytic converter.

And in car models from 2015 onwards, the catalytic converter has been placed within the engine bay, so a thief would need to disassemble the car to get at it.

Dafydd Dylan, commercial manager of the catalytic converters division at FJ Church and Sons, told the BBC that his firm is constantly receiving calls from members of the public asking how much they could get if they were to sell catalytic converters.

Cash sales tempting thieves

He said: “We do what we can to discourage it – we don’t purchase any units from these models unless they come from a reputable dealer.

“When we get a packet, usually there will be a range of low-end and high-end catalytic converters in it.

“We have refused to work with some suppliers for certain packets containing a disproportionate amount of high-grade scrap converters.”

However, although it has been illegal to pay cash for scrap metal since 2013, he says there are some dealers who will pay cash for catalytic converters, which tempts the thieves.

“The police needs to start to put people in jail for paying cash for scrap metal – as soon as they do that, the trade would slow down and stop,” he said.

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