Local Crime & Public Safety

Catalytic converter thefts have surged during the pandemic. Police are fighting back.

Takoma Park police in Maryland have teamed up with a local mechanic to etch tag numbers on catalytic converters to deter thieves seeking the car parts for their precious metals

By Donovan J. Thomas
Yesterday at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Michael McCarthy was headed to his weekly walk in Sligo Avenue Neighborhood Park one August morning, when he noticed two rocks at the base of his car’s rear tires. ... He remembers feeling uneasy. Something wasn’t right.

“When I got in my car and started it, it sounded like a 747 aircraft without the windows. It was this loud, offensive noise, and I turned the engine off right away,” McCarthy said. “I didn’t know what to think, but something was wrong.” ... McCarthy, 77, soon discovered that his catalytic converter had been stolen from his 2007 Toyota Prius. ... “I really felt victimized,” said McCarthy, a Takoma Park resident. “Somebody had been out in front of my house at nighttime, propped my car up and absconded with my catalytic converter.”

McCarthy became one of a growing number of car owners regionally and nationwide who have lost their catalytic converters, an integral part of a vehicle’s exhaust system that police say thieves are targeting for its precious metals. Neighborhood message boards in the District, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have been filled with residents complaining of thefts or police providing warnings about the jump in the crime. In Ohio, lawmakers introduced a bill to ban the sale of catalytic converters without proof of ownership. And a city in Arizona launched an undercover initiative called “Operation Heavy Metal” to combat the thefts, which jumped from two cases in 2018 to more than 400 as of September.

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According to the NICB, the primary targets of catalytic converter thefts are bigger vehicles such as large pickups and delivery vehicles. These vehicles have higher clearance, which makes their catalytic converters easier to access. ... Toyota Priuses are also prone to thefts because they contain two catalytic converters and are hybrid vehicles, law enforcement and experts say. The converters stolen from Priuses tend see less corrosion, which makes them more valuable to thieves.

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By Donovan Thomas
Donovan Thomas is a reporting intern covering crime and courts for The Washington Post's Metro desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/DonovanJThomas1