By Linda McNatt
The Virginian-Pilot
SUFFOLK
With the right tool, it's a simple matter of slipping, clipping and cutting.
And, if you know where to go to get rid of it, a stolen catalytic converter can bring in a quick $100.
That's why Suffolk police believe they're seeing a rash of thefts of the part on vehicle exhaust systems meant to keep harmful chemicals from the atmosphere.
Police on Wednesday said that there have been 12 converter thefts in the city in the past couple of months.
It's the latest example of what has become a trend. Law enforcement officials nationwide have been reporting thefts of converters for months. Investigators speculate that the motive lies in at least three metals used to make the converters that bring precious prices: platinum, rhodium and palladium.
As the prices of various metals have risen in recent years, so has the number of thefts. Over the past year, thieves in the area began targeting sources of copper - such as wiring at utility substations or cell phone towers.
For a converter, thieves can get an easy $100 at some
used-car parts outlets or scrap metal yards, said Suffolk spokeswoman Debbie George.
"We've seen the problem grow over the last two years," George said. "But we've really seen an increase in the last 90 days."
Aside from the value of the metals, there also is a market for used converters. Some Web sites offer to pay for converters from junk cars,
and George noted that there were more than 1,000 converters for sale Wednesday on eBay.
Representatives of several local scrap yards contacted Wednesday said they now steer away from the converters
because they could be stolen.
Pickup s and Toyota sport utility vehicles are the most frequently targeted vehicles, George said. That's likely because those vehicles are higher off the ground and easy to slip under.
On July 4, a Wal-Mart employee on College Drive in north Suffolk reported that his catalytic converter was gone when he left work, George said. The vehicle was parked in the employee parking lot.
Two days later at Sentara Obici Hospital on Godwin Boulevard, a converter was stolen from a Toyota SUV in the parking lot.
"It takes less than two minutes to get the converters off," George said. "But they can be really expensive to replace."
Converter theft has been an occasional problem in most Hampton Roads cities.
"We had several stolen about three months ago," said Christi Golden, Chesapeake police spokeswoman. "They take them mostly from pickup trucks. It's a quick cut."
Vehicle owners can start their engines, but, "once it starts, you know something is wrong," Golden said.
"It sounds a lot like your muffler is gone," George said. "It's a terrible noise."
Ann Hope, police spokeswoman in Portsmouth, said the city also has experienced several thefts of catalytic converters.
Suffolk police believe they have a lead. At the hospital, a witness observed a dark-colored mini van with a missing passenger-side hubcap, George said. The vehicle was operated by a white male, 20 to 25 years old. A female with a brown ponytail and a 1 - or 2 -year-old child also were in the vehicle.
George said the person,
according to video from a surveillance camera, also attempted to remove the converter from a second vehicle at that same location.
Anyone with information on the Suffolk thefts is asked to contact police at (757) 923-2350 or Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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THIEVES
yes what these people are accused of doing ,is wrong but do any of you out there makeing remarks and downing these folks without knowing whats going on ,it could be your family people are running their mouths about, see what these dang drugs do so teach and preach ,offer help to your loved ones on drugs they are evil ,hang the ones out there selling them so this kinda of things dont happen.
receivers of stolen property
There are only a few places that take these items. I think the law enforcement agencies should do a sting like they do when they put undercover officers posing as prostitutes. At least they would be dealing with companies that can be regulated and fined when they cross the lines. Also, a BIG thank you to the news media for showing those who didn't know, just how quick and easy it was to remove them. More incidents, more for them to report on I guess?!
Stealing this & robbing that,
Where will it stop? I say we go back to the early 70’s and let an officer with a shotgun stake out some of these places. He blows someone away, then that saves on court cost. There is no way to stop someone from stealing them off a car. Watch Nascar and see how fast they change tires on one side only and no gas. One person driving, one person on the jack, one person on the saw. Get the picture. Why a shotgun? You will hit more then you miss. Believe me when the thugs find out, “game over”, they will change their ways. Scrap metal yards need money also. Police need to observe what is being brought in. This will only help if the whole world gets involved. Want to protrct your converter? Have someone weld several pieces of wire rope loosely where it can be cut out. Saw has one heck of a time trying to cut that.
I spend a lot of time in the
I spend a lot of time in the area and if I catch this guy under my car he is getting curb stomped.
Junk yards
Because the theifs get $100 from the Junkyard, and the Junkyard gets more. It's the same reason pawn shops will melt down jewelry after buying it at ridiculous prices, where they know it has to be stolen. Greed works up the chain. When I get rid of my hacker lab, I put out stacks of computer equipment and posted on craigslist that it was available in Virginia Beach. But I think the homeless guy that lives behind the office buildings on Expressway court took most of it to turn in for scrap metal. There was some decent equipment that people might have gotten use out of. I could tell because much of the plastic parts were left behind. Grrr.
time...
I was watching one of the news channels and they did a demo, real smart idea; and it took hardly no time at all.
ID check
The junk yards should be required to photocopy the ID of the seller. NOT TOO MANY folks should even HAVE a spare converter on hand. Normally, it's on the CAR!
Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh....I'm learning...
"EPA-required emissions-control device on a car's muffler, it looks like a steel shoebox but actually has in its belly a chunk of honeycomb-like material that contains three precious metals: platinum, rhodium and palladium."
stealing
I hope they are wearing kevlar when I catch'em around my truck!
Really?
Obviously I'm not familiar with the workings of an auto - well, o.k., the key, steering wheel and gas cap...Where is the catalytic converter and is it easily accessible and would it prompt attention while getting to it?
With the Right Tools
With the right tools, you can do it in less than two minutes...
Yikes!
What's it take in time and difficulty removing one of these things? Guys must be posing as on-the-spot auto machanics or something.
thefts
why don't they have the junk yards report when someone sells these things to them especially when it is the same guy bringing in two to three a week.the platinum is worth a lot in these systems is why they steal them.and they target any vehicle that is high off the ground.you can have these things spot welded to make it harder for these thieves but they have been known to just use a sawzall.