Catalytic converter thefts on the rise
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2022 (1346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Catalytic converter thefts are on the rise in Brandon, a trend mirrored across Manitoba.
There have been seven thefts of the valuable car part reported in Brandon so far in 2022, equal to the number in all of 2021, according to police.
In 2020, there was only one catalytic converter theft reported and zero in 2019.
Catalytic converters are car parts that convert pollutants in exhaust into less-toxic gases. There are valuable metals inside, including rhodium, palladium and platinum, which can be sold for scrap.
In the most recent incident, police responded to a report of two stolen from vehicles parked in the 2000 block of Louise Avenue on June 3, according to police.
Officers used security camera footage from the area to identify and arrest the suspect.
The 39-year-old was charged with two counts of theft under $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 2, police said on Tuesday.
The precious metals in catalytic converters can be sold for cash, Brandon police public information officer Sgt. Kirby Sararas said.
“This isn’t just a problem in Brandon but across Canada and North America as other jurisdictions are seeing the same trend,” Sararas said in an email.
Catalytic converter theft is also an issue in Winnipeg, where as many 1,620 thefts were reported in the first 11 months of 2021, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. That’s up from 336 in 2020 and 14 in 2015.
In response, a Winnipeg city councillor suggested a province-wide specialized task force be created to regulate the sale of metals found in the devices.
In December, the provincial government introduced the Scrap Metal Act, which is aimed at cracking down on the trafficking of stolen car parts.
Under the legislation, anyone selling a part will be required to show government-issued ID and write a description of the scrap metal and how they got it. Dealers will be required to notify police of any items they believe could’ve been stolen.
Scrap metal dealers will be banned from buying the meal without the information, according to the Free Press. Dealers will also be required to write down the seller’s licence plate number for some items.
» dmay@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press
» Twitter: @DrewMay_