Police Warn Of Increase In Thefts Of Catalytic Converters

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Asking the public to look out for suspicious activity

Car owners are being advised to be on the lookout for thieves who are stealing catalytic converters from parked cars.

On the Putney forum there was a report in March this year of the theft of a members catalytic converter and also back in May last year similar reports appeared on the forum.

On Wednesday two cars had this equipment stolen from their vehicles in Putney. The thieves are believed to have crawled underneath the cars and removed the catalytic converters which are attached to the exhaust system and designed to reduce harmful emissions.

Police say they are being targeted by thieves because they contain high-value precious metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Larger vehicles like 4x4s are often targeted because they have a higher ground clearance and this make it easier for the thieves to work underneath them.

To reduce the risk of theft drivers should:
Garage their car whenever possible
Park in well-lit busy areas or where there is good CCTV coverage
Look out for people working under cars
Consider marking or engraving the metal shell of the converter with the vehicle’s registration number so that it can be traced if removed by thieves
Purchase a specially designed catalytic converter anti-theft device, which are now being marketed to combat this trend.
If anyone spots suspicious activity and believes that thieves are trying to steal car parts they should call the police straight away.

April 18, 2014