Catalytic converter thefts in California | Hacker News Reader

Catalytic converter thefts in California

latimes.com

42 pointsturtlegrids57 comments

My was stolen last year ($3k and 3 weeks to replace), and at the advice of the muffler shop I got one of these, for $200 installed (so far so good): https://www.catstrap.net/

The key is that it would just take a lot longer to steal.

I only wish Costco would sell and install these for folks (using their purchase power and distribution network to soften the cost). Cheap insurance in areas where this sort of activity is endemic.

I worry about systems like this, because if I were a thief and you pissed me off with the addition of the siren versus just the protective layer, I’d slash your tires and break all of your windows then run off.

So if I’m thinking this, how much worse will an actual criminal behave? Setting a car on fire only costs $5.

Then next time it won't be just a siren but something more injurious.

And if you start setting cars on fire, the cops won't be so lax about catching you.

I highly doubt you could use something more injurious legally at least. Maybe pepper spray or something, but defense must be proportional (including booby traps) - you cannot for example setup a shotgun to shoot their legs (see Katko v. Britney).

My point is that the legality of it would stop mattering much. And even then, set up a siren that can do 160db, that will cause immediate hearing damage. With a bit of know-how, you can also have it fuse off some of that power to drop it under 130db after the first use to make it appear legal.

There are plenty of places in CA where if you're stealing a cat., and the owner catches you, you might find yourself getting pushed off a tall mountainside in the boonies.

once maybe, twice maybe. Eventually you get caught, and arson will get you jail, even with SF's current DA

Depending on which part of CA you're in, you would be lucky to only get jail time. People that have gone through wildfires won't take kindly to firebugs.

Sounds like an extremely poor argument for letting criminals do whatever they want. Do you keep your house/car door unlocked just in case a criminal would like to take a gander? What if the thief throws a brick at the windows and the runs off?

Well, I’ve actually been robbed. I don’t really care what your opinion is.

This says more about you than it does about the product, or of thieves.

I would think that they're in a hurry, see the extra stuff, and move on. The thought had crossed my mind however.

Most thieves don't have time for that, they'd rather move on to the next car. why would they want to waste all the energy and attract attention? I suppose a crazed methhead might do it.

Sounds like you’re describing theft and harassment.

An unexpected but welcome bonus for being an EV owner - no cat to steal!

(The lack of oil, and brake pads that last the life of the car, are also perks that don't often get discussed.)

You know, that Tesla, for about 6 months in the mid 2010s, routinely swapped batteries at a road-side site in California. I just hope that the hoodlums don't learn how to do that too. Don't let all that EV smugness go to your head. There are plenty of reasons to have a few ICE vehicles around. I hate to think of which type of vehicle suffers more when there is an X-Class solar flare on the scale of a Carrington event.

Back in college my roommates 10 year old car died because the on board computer for fried. That car was made in the 90s. Just because gas cars burn fossil fuels doesn’t mean they don’t have electronic components.

You seem to be imagining problems that do not exist.

The battery swap facility was for the Tesla Model S only, and the battery cannot be removed as if it was a Duracell. It needed to be disconnected with a specialized robot.

Current battery packs are even harder to remove - even if "battery pack theft squads" were a thing, which they aren't.

As for the solar flare - this sounds like a problem for science fiction. The chassis of the car is a faraday cage! They survive getting struck by lightning!

Why is California a hotbed for these crimes?

Because we have stopped persecuting most non violent crimes here.

Stealing a $3k catalytic converter is a felony. It would absolutely be prosecuted (or plea bargained) if the cops find the thieves.

Nah, the progressive DAs are really reluctant to prosecute property crime, this discourages the police from making a case for prosecution.

I know a filmmaker in Oakland who had thousands of dollars of electronics stolen from their car (and receipts/insurance to prove the value of the electronics). One of the items stolen was an iPad that was phoning its location home, the filmmaker tried to direct the Oakland police to the house with the stolen iPad (itself worth >$950 dollars) but the police said they didn't think the case would stick and declined to go address the situation.

It may be 'in fact' that theft over $950 is a felony that police should take seriously, but in practice, it's really rare to see a thief prosecuted.

Oakland has less police per capita than most cities, so police tend to prioritize violent crimes. This has nothing to do with prosecutors. In fact, the last prosecutors election was an incumbent vs. a reformer. The incumbent won, so this has nothing to do with progressive prosecutors.

One of the groups behind this in LA was released during the pandemic and continued their work... They know they won't be put back.

The group caught in San Diego (caught with a house full of catalytic converters) were only charged for having a slide they'd stolen from a local park. Slap on the wrist.

A lot of non violent crime is not being pursued at this time, besides these thefts. It's a broader trend.

Taxes go up, services go down. Why? Just never enough money to govern somehow in California...

Clearly, it's an impoverished state.

(If we measured by more than money in common thinking, that isn't even sarcasm)

> The group caught in San Diego (caught with a house full of catalytic converters) were only charged for having a slide they'd stolen from a local park. Slap on the wrist.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/us/washington-stolen-slide-tr...

This case had a stolen slide, discovered while police were looking for stolen cats. Also they were not charged with the theft of the stolen goods found. It happened in Burbank WA though.

First sentence is correct. Second sentence does not reflect reality on the ground. Police budgets in LA were slashed last year. LAPD cut around 10% of their cops. Measure J? redirects 10% of the LA county budget towards anything but police, which is essentially a massive cut to the county police department. At this point non-violent criminals in LA only go to jail if they walk themselves in.

Lmao, the police aren't going to look for your cats anywhere. And if they do catch someone in the act, they will arrest them, it'd a felony.

Speaking as a person who has experienced 3 burglaries and 5 car part thefts in California here. Typically, in most jurisdictions in CA, police will only become involved in property crime if it involves a public building like a school. They know who signs their checks and prioritize according to the city council and mayor.

So if someone steals your catalytic converter, don't just call the police. Show up at the city council and make a stink.

PS: Shout out to the Norco CA sheriff's department. That was a police department that actually POLICED. They would investigate the heck out of property crime.

Besides being (I would guess) slightly more crime-friendly than other places, I'll bet part of the problem is the expense of catalytic converters in CA. They are probably worth a lot more as spares than as raw materials.

It seems to me that CARB forces people to buy OEM parts, or at least some kind of on-a-list part for $$$.

You are not legally allowed to sell or install used cats in CA: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/aftermarket-catalytic-converters

I wonder if shops will still install used (stolen) units regardless? Or maybe they are just being shipped out of state or broken down for raw materials.

Didn't stop thieves from stealing my GF's cat in LA. Globalization baby.

C'est la vie. You're not supposed to steal cats either.

The one thing that's fairly hard to get around is the biannual inspection.

In days of yore, a box of donuts could get someone to hot pipe your car. Now, not so much. It was kind of a necessity if you owned a car that wouldn't pass even in absolutely pristine new condition.

Any moron with a welder can reinstall, and it'll pass emissions if done correctly.

it's happening all over. Might be a little more lax in Cali because of lenient laws/prosecutors on stealing stuff though. I assure you it's happening in urban areas of texas and has gone up 200-1000% the past couple of years depending on the city

Is it, particularly? I live in Washington, DC, and the neighborhood listserv was full of catalytic converter theft postings last winter and spring. Why my neighborhood? I guess because of the number of persons who can afford will buy Priuses.

https://youtu.be/bpuAv0sTh-w useful video on where they go https://youtu.be/53Ru0whEbCA processing video

Nice videos! It's really sad to see how little this guy recovers from the cats in the second video.

That's a Honda Element in the first video, one of the more popular targets.

Here's a rough list of the most popular: Toyota Tundra Toyota Prius Toyota Tacoma Ford F-250 Honda Element & CRV

It's easier to steal them out of trucks and SUV's because of the ground clearance.

Learned about this a year and a half ago when my GF's cat was stolen from her Element, parked in front of my house in Los Angeles.

They are all over the west coast period. In Portland and Seattle they even take place in broad daylight.

I knew a man in Los Angeles that had his stolen twice, weeks after getting a new one.

Possible solution. Don't allow wrecking yards to buy them unless they are attached to a car. At that point they are worthless because the thieves will have no where to sell them. Now if the thieves decide to cut them open and take out the platinum, palladium or rhodium, don't allow the wrecker to buy it without taking the persons identification and contact information which will be sent to law enforcement.

I thought scrappers were already required to keep records of who sells to them for just this reason.

I found this: https://iscrapapp.com/scrap-laws/

They're supposed to but there's unscrupulous people in every industry and these could even get sold to middle men who take them out of the country for processing.

Every yard near me (Southside Chicago) requires provenance in the form of a title or proof of purchase of a new converter. Further they won’t (ostensibly) buy more than 1 converter at a time. Hasn’t made a dent in thefts.

Like most things, I’m sure globalization has come to this “industry” and you’ll find they are great products to ship back in all those empty containers our trade surplus provides.

You meant trade deficit, not surplus.

I suspect that if wrecking yards banned them, thieves will just ship the catalytic converters overseas, just like they do with stolen locked iPhones.

Catalytic converters are a wear part. I shouldn’t have to scrap my car to do maintenance.

Could be like lead acid batteries. You buy a new one and return the old one. You just can’t sell it used or buy it used from individuals.

Doesn’t pass the sniff test.

Lead acid batteries can be sold second hand.

What if I can’t afford a new catalytic converter? Why should the least advantaged suffer disproportionately for a societal problem?

What other secondary markets should we ban for the same reasons?

Why would this prohibition even prevent catalytic converter theft?

Just a reminder that we already have more than 800,000 police officers in this country, so that's probably not the problem. It must be something else.

The problem is poverty and a general lack of opportunity.

I was poor and didn't even think to steal other people's shit

That is solvable by jacking up the change of getting caught and the punishment metered out until it doesn't happen.

There is no problem. Just pay your ever inflating insurance premiums quietly. Justice is being served.

The number of police officers in an area is only part of it. Said officers must also be permitted by the policies they operate under to take effective actions that stop or deter the thefts. You could have enough officers and vehicles to have a patrol unit every other block at all hours of the day, but if department policy is such that doing anything other than witnessing the theft and taking a report afterward results in getting fired, odds are, the cops aren't going to be stopping many thefts.

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