The seller must provide documentation showing ownership of the vehicle the part came from. It requires recycling facilities to mark catalytic converters and take a thumbprint from the seller. In September, a new Texas law took effect. Thieves Are Coveting Catalytic Converters New Texas Law Applies to Sales The optional, comprehensive portion would cover a catalytic converter loss, minus the deductible. This is also a good time to ask questions about your insurance policy. “But we would hope if you could do a couple of those things, that it would lessen the chance.” “There is no guarantee that I'm aware of, as a police officer, where we can say, 'If you do this, you will not be a victim of this crime,'” Minton said. In police lingo, consumers are aiming to harden the target. “The more things you do to help prevent yourself from being a victim, the better,” Minton said. Minton said those precautions may discourage theft, but nothing is foolproof. Police said many cases go unsolved because there’s no link between the catalytic converter and the victim’s vehicle. Some North Texas police departments offer the service for free.
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You can also have your VIN or driver’s license number etched directly onto your catalytic converter. Minton said to consider a car alarm with a tilt-sensor and vibration detection. Many victims reported their car alarms didn’t go off when a thief cut out their catalytic converter. A muffler shop can also build a cage around a catalytic converter. Some aftermarket anti-theft products can cost a few hundred dollars and require a mechanic’s help to install. If that’s not possible, Minton said shields and locks can help make it harder for a thief to target a catalytic converter. Minton recommended vehicle owners park in a garage. Jesse Minton said.Įarlier this year, police pulled four detectives and a supervisor to focus on catalytic converter theft cases. “It was almost not on the radar at all,” Ofc. There were 253 reports in 2020 and only eight for 2019. It takes just over a minute for someone to get under a pickup, cut out the catalytic converter and leave.Īrlington police, like many departments NBC 5 Responds reached out to for this story, reported a spike in catalytic converter thefts this year.īetween January and October of 2021, Arlington police counted 613 catalytic converter theft reports. Irving police shared this surveillance video taken in March. Police say thieves can slide under a car and cut out the part within a minute. Small, battery-operated saws with metal cutting blades are the tool of choice. “They just cut through whatever they got to cut through.” Medrano said the cage weighed at least 30 pounds. Thieves found a way around a cage, installed to protect the catalytic converter. He showed NBC 5 Responds a video his coworker took of a customer’s vehicle. Irvin Medrano, a mechanic at A&B Muffler and Brake of Texas in Arlington, said he’s seen it all since the pandemic began. “I'm trying to do what I can do to keep the car safe. She’s frustrated, unsure of what to do next to protect her vehicle. Ross-Welsh said her apartment complex parking lot is well-lit and she parks as close to the entrance of her home as possible. The thefts left her scrambling to get to medical appointments. Ross-Welsh said she’s battling kidney cancer.
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She said it happened a third time in October. I'm thinking, 'They're not going to mess with it,'” Ross-Welsh said. “Even had the catalytic converter welded up to the car. After the second theft, she said a muffler shop welded rebar around a new catalytic converter. Ross-Welsh said her catalytic converter was stolen in February and again in August. Thieves stole the catalytic converter from her car in the parking lot of her apartment complex. I'm going out there, getting out of my bed and looking up under my car,” Ross-Welsh said.
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“I'm paranoid, I can't sleep, I'm getting up. NBC 5 Responds wanted to know: Will the law help and what can consumers do to protect themselves? ' What’s Next?'Īt her Dallas apartment, Tara Ross-Welsh finds herself on high alert at home. In 2021 Texas lawmakers passed a new law hoping to deter the theft.
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