'Cat' Theft Crackdown Passes Muster At Beaumont City Hall

BEAUMONT, CA — Catalytic converters are big business — legal and otherwise — and the city of Beaumont has had enough of the "otherwise."

Beaumont City Council passed a new ordinance making it illegal to possess a catalytic converter not attached to a motor vehicle.

If someone is stopped with a catalytic converter and cannot provide proper proof of lawful possession (bill of sale from the original owner with photographs, documentation from an auto-body shop, etc.) the ordinance allows Beaumont police to issue an administrative violation. If found guilty of the misdemeanor crime, violators can be fined up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or both. The ordinance takes effect starting Dec. 8.

Beaumont Mayor Julio Martinez III said the ordinance provides police with another tool to combat catalytic converter thefts, which are on the rise in the city and across the nation.

Indeed, catalytic converter theft is a billion-dollar criminal enterprise. The sought-after vehicle part known as a "cat" in the underworld and at legitimate auto shops contains three highly valuable metals — platinum, palladium and rhodium. The metals are worth around $50 a gram. As a result, stolen devices get passed through "middlemen, smelters and refineries in the United States and overseas. Along the way, their provenance becomes opaque," with no traceability to the thieves, according to a Nov. 15 New York Times article titled, "So Thieves Nabbed Your Catalytic Converter. Here’s Where It Ended Up."

The Times article points out that the market for the precious metals is so lucrative that a cottage industry of "enablers" has sprouted up to help thieves know when, where and what vehicles to strike.

“That made it easier for thieves who otherwise would just be slinging dope on a corner to just pull out their phone and be like, ‘Oh, look, there’s a Prius parked across the street — I wonder how much I can get for that?’” according to a prosecutor quoted in the Times story.

Catalytic converters date back to the mid-20th century, but they were mass-produced in response to the Clean Air Act of 1970 — which included a provision requiring all vehicles manufactured after 1975 to drastically reduce emissions. The devices work by changing the harmful compounds from a gasoline engine's emissions into safer gases, like steam.

The catalytic converter "stands as one of the greatest technological interventions to protect the environment in history,” Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, told the New York Times.

But cat thievery is menacing to police and vehicle owners alike. If you've been a victim, you know what it's like to have your vehicle disabled. Replacement devices are often hard to get and can cost $1,000 or more. In some cases, a new catalytic converter can exceed the value of a car, though comprehensive coverage on an auto insurance policy typically covers against catalytic converter theft.

Across Riverside County, catalytic converter theft has become a common crime. Beaumont wants to get ahead of the illegal racket.

Beaumont Chief of Police Sean Thuilliez said the city's new ordinance "is a proactive approach to the rise in catalytic converter thefts and provides an alternative means to help deter theft in the City of Beaumont.”