Catalytic Converter Thieves - January 18 2022

[adam16]

Hi all,

I reported two catalytic converter thieves operating in the Melbourne Grove, Blackwater Street, Bassano Street area this afternoon around 12.15pm.

They are using two vehicles whose registration numbers are WU04 XCS (silver Toyota yaris) and LV07 PNF (Grey Renault.

If anyone in this area has been or will later realise they've been a victim of this and their vehicle has been damaged / vandalised today please repot to police quoting CAD 2978 on 18th January 2022.

[Brideshead]

Plates will almost certainly be ?cloned?.

Anyway, they are only expressing their criminal culture we need to be a bit more tolerant.

😜

[James Barber]

We've installed a Catalytic Convertor Property Marking Kit - https://www.selectadna.co.uk/products/selectamark-cat-marking-kit

As a former Councillor, this is the sort of thing we used to bulk buy with public money to give residents for free use to reduce crime. Incredibly effective at reducing crime.

[ianr]

The thieves presumably already have means of disposing of batches of stolen converters or their valued content. How will marking of the cases deter them?

[goldilocks]

Whilst having a bulk purchasing agreement with a supplier that is perhaps signposted on council websites, I don't think that subsidising drivers is a good use of public funds at all. If people wish to put these on their own private property then its part of their cost vs insurance vs repair assessment.

Additionally there is that secondary issue that the catalytic converters are broken down into different components for value and unlikely that the people doing that are legit, so not clear how this would help.

[mrwb]

A functional police force is the solution, to catch and prosecute those responsible.

The police just aren't interested in this kind of crime currently in my experience.

They can steal them in broad daylight sometimes with pretty much total impunity.

[Brideshead]

mrwb -

Well said.

?Property marking kit? 🙄. Typical idiotic suggestion.

[VicCraven]

We had our car jacked up and catalytic convertor stolen last night. Someone also recently in Whately Road. Looks like BMW cars (possibly Series 1 specifically?) are being targetted. There is almost nothing that can be done about it. The whole incident was over in minutes. By the time we had realsied that an odd noise was happening in the street, all we saw was our car in the air, suddenly drop down and two people jump into a car and speed off. I believe you can get physical systems to lock the convetor into place. Looks like that is the only way to go. Very distressing.

[Weeksywoo]

Unfortunately I just witnessed another car being jacked up tonight on ulverscroft road - a silver bmw. I didn?t get the number plate but they drove off in a large SUV type black car and there were 4 men in masks - absolutely not worried about how much noise they were making. There was a man who was phoning the police just now and someone else had a record of the thieves number plate. I?m sorry to everyone who is being victim to this! Hope the police find them.

[jazzer]

It's not just converters that are being taken, they have been known to break into BMW's (seems top be the flavour of the month car" and nicking air bags, steering wheels and even partial dashboards. Scary times. Can only assume that there's currently a black market for these items

[Spartacus]

I picked up a leaflet by a company called cat loc which has one potential solution, but the real problem is that the stolen units are easily sold on.

The key is to stamp out the buyers then the theives won't have an incentive to steal.