Benny Westcott
Catalytic converters are meant to protect people from airborne pollutants. But in 2021, Sweet Home residents might want to protect their catalytic converters.
That’s because the area is experiencing unusually high rates of catalytic converter thefts.
Four thefts have already occurred in 2021 in Sweet Home and two others were reported since Feb. 1 outside the city limits. Three of those in town were single-vehicle thefts, while one instance involved four vehicles owned by Sunshine Industries.
One theft occurred in a resident’s driveway, while another happened at Sweet Home High School. Another converter was taken off a moving truck parked in the 400 block of Main Street,
This crime historically hasn’t been common to Sweet Home, Chief of Police Jeff Lynn said, who added that he couldn’t recall any thefts of catalytic converters during his tenure at the police station prior to the most recent spurt of thefts.
“It’s not something that happens very frequently here in town,” Lynn said. “We are trying to figure out where they are going and how that’s happening.”
Catalytic converters contain precious metals, such as platinum, that can be attractive to thieves. At this point in time, Lynn isn’t sure whether the thieves are cutting the converters down for their metal or selling them to businesses, he said. He notes that some legitimate businesses buy catalytic converters.
Lynn believes that two or so people are involved in the thefts, he said, and that some type of hacksaw is being used to cut the converters off.
“A detective is working on some leads that came in, and hopefully we can resolve it and hold somebody accountable for it sooner rather than later.”
He noted how it would take a group effort to prevent these thefts.
“It’s about the whole neighborhood paying attention to see if anything is out of the ordinary. If you see something, anything suspicious, report it. That’s what we would suggest right now.”
If a resident has a catalytic converter stolen from their vehicle, that vehicle is not rendered completely unusable, but is severely hampered.
“It will run, but smoke will be pouring out from underneath and it will be extremely loud,” Lynn said. “It would have to be fixed before you can use it on any type of long-term basis.”
It was a first for Sunshine Industries.
“It’s been quite a few years since I’ve even heard of someone stealing catalytic converters,” said Bruce Hobbes, program manager at Sunshine Industries. “We’ve had robberies on our site where they’ll hit multiple vehicles, steal gas and stuff like that. But not catalytic converters. It’s been quite a few years since they were worth anything to make it worth the effort.”
Sunshine Industries’ cameras captured the criminal activity on tape, but Hobbes doesn’t think the footage has been very helpful in identifying the perpetrator.
“When I checked the tapes, I have a picture of a potato robbing us,” Hobbes said. “Unfortunately, they’re wearing the standard dark jeans and hoodie outfit, so it’s not real useful.”
Three of Sunshine Industries’ vehicles have been repaired already, but it’s costing about $1,000 each to repair the vehicles, he said.