Danbury Police Warn Public of Catalytic Converter Thefts

Believe it or not, not only do you have to make sure your car is protected against theft, but you have to also make sure your catalytic converter is too.

The Danbury Police Department released a statement through their Facebook page warning residents of a rash of catalytic converter thefts in and around the Danbury area.

Apparently, some of the metal that are used in the converters are pretty expensive and can have a $250 street value - like palladium that clean pollutants from the car's exhaust. With emissions restrictions tightening, the metals are in high demand and can cost thousands of dollars per ounce, plus it could cost you up to $4000 to replace a catalytic converter that gets stolen.

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The Danbury Police Department also released a list of things you can do to prevent this type of theft.

• Park in a garage or well lit area
• Engrave your VIN number into your catalytic converter. This will discourage someone from selling it on the black market. Most people, like junk yards, who buy them after they have been stolen will not go near one with a VIN number, or a scratched out VIN number.
• Have the catalytic converter welded to your cars frame which makes it harder to remove.
• Install a car alarm that is triggered by any vibration near the car.

This is not just a local problem, or a new problem, according to newstimes.com, in the state of Connecticut and nationally, the number of thefts spiked last year during the pandemic.