A few years ago, you might not have known where the catalytic converter on your car was located, let alone what it did. But now, with increasing thefts of these emission-control devices across the country, people have become more aware of them — and their value.
In 2019, Aurora police recorded eight cases of catalytic converter thefts. In 2020, the agency had 68 thefts. And in 2021, that number skyrocketed to 646, according to Aurora Police Department data.
Denver has seen a similar rise with 14 thefts reported in 2019 to 268 in 2020. In 2021, that number rose again to 2,671, according to Denver Police Department data.
It’s an issue that has prompted auto body shops to offer products that are intended to protect catalytic converters. AAA Colorado announced last summer that it would offer a program to etch serial numbers onto the devices that would be logged into a law enforcement database, and the cars would have warning stickers on them about it. And now, Colorado lawmakers are trying to do something about the problem through the newly-introduced SB22-009.
The bill would make it illegal after Oct. 31 to install, sell, offer to sell or advertise any used, recycled or salvaged catalytic converters unless the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment certifies them for installation and sale. It would also add catalytic converters and metals from those converters to existing Colorado criminal law and require auto parts recyclers to make sure any catalytic converters they acquire have not been stolen. The increased regulation could make it easier to prosecute “chop shops” for selling them.
Sen. Dennis Hisey, a Fountain Republican and one of the bill’s sponsors, said the high rate of theft is happening not only in larger cities but smaller rural communities like those in his district, with larger SUVs and trucks often being the targets because they’re elevated and make the devices easier to remove.
“Everybody knows somebody that’s had this happen even if they’re not aware of it just yet,” he said.
Hisey hopes the bill, if passed, will not only make it easier for consumers to replace catalytic converters when stolen — with the new certification process for aftermarket catalytic converters — but also make it more difficult to recycle stolen catalytic converters and metals.
The reason there needs to be a new certification process is because Colorado adopted California-style emission vehicle standards in 2018 to help reduce greenhouse gas output and that included regulations for catalytic converters. State law requires that vehicles have catalytic converters from the manufacturer or a new aftermarket device that meets those emissions standards. Hisey said the bill wouldn’t require the emission standards to change but to find a way to make it easier to get the aftermarket catalytic converters so consumers aren’t faced with bills for thousands of dollars.
Sponsor Sen. Joann Ginal, a Fort Collins Democrat, said in a statement that the increase in these thefts across the nation and in Colorado leads to cars becoming inoperable and Coloradans having to deal with high costs and lack of availability for replacement.
“This bill seeks to alleviate this problem while reducing crime rates in our communities,” she said.
Last May, Carrie Packard, development director for the nonprofit Stout Street Foundation, saw just how easy it was for someone to steal a catalytic converter. Six devices, and a partial seventh, were stolen from trucks in her work’s parking lot during daylight in just three minutes. The two people responsible parked a van in front of the building’s security camera and managed to remove the catalytic converters quickly before driving off.
Packard called it a “crime of opportunity,” adding that “the irony wasn’t lost on us that they were probably doing it to feed an addiction, so they stole from a recovery community.” Since then, the nonprofit has upped its security measures, but Packard estimates that the loss from the catalytic converters totaled about $20,000.
They relied on those trucks to transport residents and collect donations. When staff members went to replace them, they found catalytic converters were on back order, but some Colorado businesses stepped in and donated services.
Packard wonders how it would be possible to reduce these types of thefts that she’s also hearing happening at other nonprofits because “there’s always going to be a black market for that precious heavy metal somewhere.” But she said, “Hopefully it does make it a little more difficult and reduces the number of steps off the street, but I don’t know how you make it better,” Packard said of the bill.
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