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Comment by francisofascii | Hacker News Reader

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.

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.

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

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.

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