Catalytic converter thefts are surging again. So what is being done to stop them?

Metal prices may be down this year, but police and ICBC say they’re dealing with more catalytic converter thefts than ever.

The problem is particularly bad in Surrey, as theft victim Lewis Corkum discovered to his chagrin when he tried to start his car last Friday morning.

“I hit start and probably woke up half the neighbourhood,” he told Global news.

“It was just gone. All the other cars around here and they picked me of course.”

The Surrey RCMP saw an average of 16 reported catalytic converter thefts every month in 2021. This year, the number has nearly doubled to 31 per month, Const. Hwang Lee of the Surrey RCMP Property Crime Target Team. Catalytic converters make up nearly half (45 per cent) of thefts reported from vehicles, according to the Surrey RCMP.

0:58 Brazen attempt to steal catalytic converter in Coquitlam

Lee has been tracking catalytic converter thefts for about five years, and said they tend to spike when the market value of the heavy metals they contain rise. That hasn’t been the case with this surge, and it’s not the only change he’s noticed.

“What I was seeing back then was a few prolific offenders were committing most of the crime, so we would arrest two or three prolific offenders and the numbers would go down 20 or 30 per cent right away,” he said.

“And now those kinds of arrest have very little impact on the overall numbers because there are more people involved in catalytic converter theft.”

As of 2022, the top five vehicle models targeted by thieves, according to Lee, are all imports — which tend to have more of the target metals inside their catalytic converters.

The top five targets for Surrey catalytic converter thieves:

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• Hyundai Tuscon
• Honda CRV
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Kia Sportage
• Mitsubishi RVR

According to the RCMP, used (and stolen) catalytic converters are often bundled with other recyclable metals and legally exported as scrap to the U.S. or overseas where they are melted down in smelters to recover the valuable metal.

According to ICBC more than 2,300 converters were stolen around Metro Vancouver in the first half of 2022, more than a quarter of them in Surrey alone. Those thefts added up, costing ICBC an estimated $5.3 million, along with painful deductibles for vehicle owners.

Since March, new provincial regulations have required metal recyclers to track and record all catalytic converter purchases, but Lee said it’s too soon to say if that change is having an effect.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told Global News he was confident the legislation would make a difference, but acknowledged criminals are always looking for ways to innovate.

“We also know the thieves, and the organizations behind the thieves, because it is an organized business, are trying to find other ways (to move the units), we know a lot of it gets shipped off overseas,” he said.

“It may well require additional effort from Ottawa at the port level. I know in the past when we’ve raised these types of concerns Ottawa has tried to be responsive.”

And there are other loopholes that need to be addressed.

Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bob Keay said the recent changes to the Metal Dealers and Recyclers Act did not cover mobile scrap purchasers, who buy metal and then re-sell it to the recyclers.

“What we’ve noticed is the purchases are coming not just from businesses, but from people we believe to be going out and conducting the theft.

“What we found was there was no requirement to report for mobile scrap purchasers. So speaking with (the Surrey Bylaw Department), we laid out a number of things we would like to see put in place, one being that if they’re buying a catalytic converter they’re required to record it in a log.”

2:03 Catalytic converter thieves have become increasingly more brazen in their methods

Keay said Mounties want those mobile purchasers to be required to collect vehicle identification numbers and personal information from all sellers, and be required to show it to police and to recycling depots.

He’s hoping those regulations get the green light and are emulated in neighbouring municipalities.

“It’s going to be more effective if everybody is doing it. It’s a regional issue … if these regulations are in place for everybody it would affect the ability to sell a stolen catalytic converter.”

In the meantime, he advices vehicle owners to do what they can to deter thieves.

People can buy special alarm systems or plates to block off access to the units, which are located on the underside of a vehicle. Owners can also park as close to the curb as possible to reduce access to the underside of their vehicle.

1:54 Loophole in anti-metal theft law excludes catalytic converters

Most importantly, he said, residents can call police when they think they see something suspicious in their neighbourhood.

Back at Corkum’s home, the family has left its vehicle with the dealer as they wait for ICBC to approve their claim, and have been making do with a rental in the meantime — though it’s proved to be a major inconvenience.

“I am handicapped, we have a scooter ramp in the back to take the mobility scooter around … so we’ve lost that mobility for now until we get our vehicle back — having a rental is OK, it gets us around, but we can’t go do a lot of the other things we normally would be doing, especially at this time of year,” he said.

“It is very frustrating.”