Catalytic Converter Thief Targets Toyota Prius In Bloomfield: PD

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Another Toyota Prius was recently the target of a catalytic converter thief in Essex County, authorities say.

Recently, a wave of catalytic converter thefts have been taking place in North Jersey, including Bloomfield and other towns in Essex County. In nearby Montclair, thieves have been hitting Toyota Prius drivers, targeting the cars for the expensive parts.

On Dec. 3, a catalytic converter thief tried to pull off the same crime on a Prius in Bloomfield, authorities said.

According to the Bloomfield Police Department:

“Officers responded to Morley Lane on report of a catalytic converter theft. A resident observed a white Mercedes SUV travel west on Morley Lane at a high rate of speed then stopped short next to a blue 2008 Toyota Prius. The resident then observed the suspect slide under the parked vehicle with an electric saw and begin to cut the catalytic converter. The suspect then got back into a white Mercedes SUV and proceeded to drive west on Morley Lane, then south on Broad Street. This incident is under investigation.”

A recent spike in demand for precious metals has made Toyota Prius vehicles that are more than 10-years-old an unlikely target of thieves, according to a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute. Theft claim frequency for 2004-09 Prius models was more than 40 times higher in 2020 than in 2016, researchers found.

Thanks to higher prices for platinum, rhodium, palladium and other metals found in the components, catalytic converter thefts rose from about 100 a month in 2018 to more than 1,200 a month in 2020, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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