Free Event To Help LA Drivers Guard Against Catalytic Converter Theft

LOS ANGELES, CA — With catalytic converter thefts plaguing neighborhoods across Los Angeles, car owners can reduce their risk by getting their vehicle identification numbers etched for free Wednesday in Silver Lake.

The catalytic converter etching event is hosted by the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Auto Detectives and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Taskforce for Regional Auto Theft Prevention. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Silver Lake Reservoir, 1863 Silver Lake Blvd., north of the dog park.

Thieves often target parked cars in the middle of the night. Catalytic converters are relatively easy to steal because thieves can unbolt or cut them out in minutes. Thieves can steal several catalytic converters in a single night and sell them to metal recyclers, who prize them because they contain platinum, palladium and rhodium. Catalytic converters, the part of a vehicle's exhaust system that reduces pollution, can fetch thieves about $150 apiece.

In February, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón called on state legislators to approve a measure requiring auto dealers to engrave vehicle identification numbers on catalytic converters. That measure, Senate Bill 986, was approved by the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee on Monday, which Gascón celebrated as "the first step toward protecting our community members from catalytic converter theft."

According to Moore, 20% of thefts from vehicles in Los Angeles involve catalytic converters.

The devices have also been stolen from city-owned vehicles, including 39 over Christmas weekend, costing taxpayers about $74,000. In March 2021, the city also lost dozens of catalytic converters following a break-in at a city yard in Lincoln Heights, where catalytic converters were stolen from 68 vehicles.

On Monday District Attorney George Gascón announced progress in a bill he sponsored to curb catalytic converter thefts by prohibiting automobile dealers and retailers from selling a new or used vehicle unless the car’s vehicle identification number has been engraved or etched onto its catalytic converter. The bill would also require core recyclers to record any unique identification number etched or engraved on a catalytic converter in addition to all other current identification requirements.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.