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Shop owner Phil Boatright shows the exhaust system on a GMC box truck Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Discount Exhaust Works where one of two catalytic converters were stolen. Burch said the thieves may have been spooked as the second one, sitting above him on the right, was cut but not taken. Burch said the shop replaces stolen converters on average once or twice a day. Theft of catalytic converters nearly 1,500% statewide in 2021, the largest year-over-year jump among all states. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Discount Exhaust Works owner Phil Boatright holds one of the California Compliant catalytic converters Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, required in the state of Colorado today. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Shop owner Phil Boatright shows the exhaust system on a GMC box truck Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Discount Exhaust Works where one of two catalytic converters were stolen. Burch said the thieves may have been spooked as the second one, sitting above him on the right, was cut but not taken. Burch said the shop replaces stolen converters on average once or twice a day. Theft of catalytic converters nearly 1,500% statewide in 2021, the largest year-over-year jump among all states. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Discount Exhaust Works owner Phil Boatright holds one of the California Compliant catalytic converters Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, required in the state of Colorado today. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Phil Boatright ducks under a lifted GMC box truck in his automotive repair shop and points to a large hole about mid-chassis. Jagged pipe flanks the missing part.
“It’s unbelievable,” he says, shaking his head. “I did 10 for a school district in one shot.”
Criminals are stealing catalytic converters from passenger cars and trucks, RVs, buses and commercial vehicles in Colorado at the fastest rate in the nation, according to one new study.
Thefts of the emissions-control devices increased by nearly 1,500% statewide in 2021, the largest year-over-year jump among all states, research by BeenVerified.com shows.
Colorado also marked a gargantuan leap in catalytic converters stolen per the number of cars registered — at 126 thefts per 100,000 vehicles. That’s up from just eight vehicles per 100,000 in 2020, according to the data.
“We’re typically seeing more trucks, RVs, motor homes, larger vehicles that are generally parked outside, but also we see passenger cars parked in garages,” said Sgt. Jason Garrett, a spokesman for El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
Thieves usually either sell the units for scrap or on the grey market to unauthorized distributors.
And law enforcement and industry experts like Boatright say they’re not convinced a new bill proposed by state lawmakers intended to curb the problem will help.
“A lot of times with legislation, for whatever the situation is, it’s reactive,” Garrett said.
“It’s such a difficult thing to prevent — we’re seeing people trespassing on gated and enclosed properties, and very boldly going into garages to remove these products,” he said.
“It’s such a brazen crime.”
Colorado Springs Police saw a substantial increase from three cases in 2019 to 423 in 2021, according to Lt. James Sokolik, spokesman.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office handled 64 cases in 2021, Garret said, with nine to date this year. A case may involve multiple vehicles in a bus barn, for example, and does not equate to units stolen, he added.
Also, each vehicle can have one to four catalytic converters, according to Boatright, owner of Discount Exhaust Works in Colorado Springs.
Colorado is a hot spot for such criminal activity for a reason, Boatright believes. It’s among the states that have adopted California emissions standards, which are stricter and specify certain fuel compositions and types of catalytic converters.
The device is part of the exhaust system and changes carbon monoxide and other toxins into less harmful byproducts, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. Without it, vehicles can’t filter tailpipe emissions.
Colorado’s law took effect Jan. 1, 2021. That’s when thefts began and haven’t let up, Boatright said.
He cites severe price hikes of the approved units for Colorado as one of the reasons.
“They don’t have all of this figured out; they’re just messing with the prices daily,” he said.
In one instance, his cost was $900 for a particular size of catalytic converter.
“Two days later, my cost went up by $100 apiece,” he said. “I said, 'I’m going to need three or four more,' and my price went up by another $500.”
The previous universal style for a GMC such as the box truck waiting to be fixed in his garage that would have cost him $395 now is running $1,600 to $1,800, Boatright said. That excludes a markup charge to the customer for the part and the cost of labor.
Another draw for thieves is that some catalytic converters on conventional-powered and hybrid vehicles contain platinum, palladium or rhodium, precious metals that are trading on the spot market at record prices, often more than gold.
Robbers can fetch $800 for a catalytic converter stolen from a hybrid vehicle and up to $250 for ones from regular gas-engine vehicles, Garrett said.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “One suspect admitted he’d steal them and drive them to New Jersey to sell them.
“These folks are making enough money to make it worth their while, and they don’t often want to sell the stuff locally.”
Those who get caught can face misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on the dollar amount tied to the activity, Garrett said, which could include the worth of the stolen unit and damage caused to the vehicle. Along with theft, possible charges could include trespassing or criminal mischief, he added.
The situation has fueled sales on the underground market, Boatright said.
“You can make $3,000 to $4,000 with four or five cats,” he said.
Just as it's illegal to sell stolen converters, it’s illegal for businesses or individuals in Colorado to install used ones, or the wrong type of new units or use incorrect piping or connectors, Boatright said. Violators can face fines of up to $15,000 per day per violation, he said.
Stealing a catalytic converter can be completed in a few minutes with a battery-powered saw or angle grinder, hacking off the part and sometimes severing the connector cables.
That can add hundreds of dollars onto the costly repair work, which generally ranges between $1,000 and $3,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Atlas Preparatory School, a K-12 charter school in Harrison School District 2, was forced to call off end-of-year field trips last May because catalytic converters had been poached from two activity buses.
A donor helped pay to replace the units, at a cost of just under $10,000, said Brittney M. Stroh, executive director of the school.
Police arrested two suspects, who were caught on security video in front of Atlas Prep High School.
“But then they released them, saying they didn’t have eyewitnesses, and the video footage wasn’t sufficient,” Stroh said.
Also disappointing, Stroh said, is that since then, a thief targeted another Atlas Prep bus.
If enacted, Senate Bill 9 would require auto part recyclers to consult with the national motor vehicle title information system to determine whether a catalytic converter has been stolen. The proposal remains under consideration.
Shops such as Boatright’s already track numbers on the units, although they’re not required to.
And many people don’t report stolen converters to police or file insurance claims, automotive shop owners say.
It's difficult to tell if a catalytic converter has been illegally obtained, Amanda Walker, general manager of local scrapper Koscove Metal, told The Gazette after Atlas Prep and other local schools and organizations were hit last year.
“We work with the police and abide by laws to help bring justice to any wrongdoing, but you can’t accuse a person who you ‘think’ doesn’t look legit,” she said.
Most units have a serial number, which determines the price, along with the condition of the honeycomb, which can contain the sought-after precious metals, Walker said.
Regulations governing the industry are stringent, she said, requiring businesses to do video and audio surveillance, and during transactions collect identification and vehicle descriptions, all of which can be turned over to law enforcement.
Vehicles that have been robbed of catalytic converters will make a roaring sound that gets louder as the driver accelerates, according to Allstate Insurance. Sputtering also is common.
To prevent theft, Garrett of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office recommends motorists etch their license plate number on the catalytic converter, which he said could help with prosecution.
“Most major law enforcement agencies have criminal analysts whose job it is to connect the dots with pattern crimes, so they could tie in that information with suspects,” he said.
Parking a vehicle in a garage also helps deter theft, Garrett said. If parked outside, make sure it’s in a well-lit location.
Installing an aftermarket anti-theft device on the vehicle’s frame also can lessen the chances of being a victim, he said.
Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.
• Colorado, Arizona and Connecticut saw the biggest spikes in 2021 in catalytic converter thefts in the BeenVerified.com study. The largest year-over-year increase were Colorado (1,498%), Arizona (1,340%), Connecticut (1,329%), Texas (818%) and New Jersey (774%).
• Colorado ranks fifth-highest in the nation for the number of thefts in the BeenVerified.com research from last year, with 2,171 cases. California, Texas, Washington and Minnesota were first through fourth.
• State Farm insurance places Colorado at eighth in the nation for claims related to stolen catalytic converters, with 950, according to a spokeswoman. State Farm paid nearly $63 million nationwide last year for 32,267 catalytic converter claims.
• Colorado Springs police had three reported cases in 2019, 63 in 2020 and 423 in 2021.
• The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office handled 64 cases in 2021 and nine to date this year. A case may involve multiple vehicles in a bus barn, for example, and does not equate to units stolen.
• Catalytic converter thefts more than quadrupled nationwide in 2021, BeenVerified.com reports. The company estimates 65,398 thefts nationwide — a 353% increase from all reported thefts of catalytic converters in 2020, a previous record year. There were 14,433 reported stolen in 2020 and 3,389 reported in 2019, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Legislation that intends to address the unprecedented rise in thefts of catalytic converters in Colorado passed its first major hurdle Tuesday, being unanimously advanced by the Senate transportation committee.
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