Curbing thefts of catalytic converters

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Catalytic converters are a singularly unlovely — but critical — piece of vehicle equipment. Tucked between the engine and the muffler and about the size of a bread loaf, the converter is essential for changing engine exhaust into something less harmful to the environment. It relies on several rare earth metals whose prices have risen dramatically in recent years.

That has made the converters a tempting target for thieves, who crawl underneath vehicles and, in a minute or two, saw off the converter. The scrap metal nets them a few hundred dollars or more when they fence it. But replacement can cost vehicle owners as much as several thousand dollars, depending on the type of insurance they have, and going without is not an option. Catalytic converters are required by law in every state.

Minnesota, regrettably, is a top state nationally for catalytic converter thefts. A Star Tribune analysis of crime statistics from 23 Twin Cities suburbs in 2021 showed thefts had skyrocketed from 300 in 2019 to more than 2,300. So steep was the rise that the National Insurance Crime Bureau named the Twin Cities metro area the riskiest place in the country for such thefts.

Thankfully, Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, has a logical and ingenious approach to reducing such thefts aimed at shriveling up the market.

"It's very simple," Marty told an editorial writer. "Make it a crime to possess a used catalytic converter without a VIN number." Scrap yards and others who deal in or repair used catalytic converters would have to ensure that those in their possession have a Vehicle Identification Number, which can be traced back to the vehicle. He said that writing or inscribing the number on the converter is a simple matter for shops working on converters or, if a converter is brought in legally, ensuring that the VIN is on it.

"If you look at Craigslist or other places, you can find illicit scrap metal dealers advertising cash for converters," he said. This addresses a key issue with this type of crime. Converters otherwise carry no markings or VIN numbers that allow prosecutors to link them back to specific vehicles.

Marty said that law enforcement agencies have told him that even when they find someone possessing multiple used converters, they have no way to prove the converters were stolen. He said law enforcement would gain a valuable tool if sting operations allowed them to arrest illicit buyers who purchase unmarked converters.

Marty said he tried to introduce such legislation for three years when the Senate was in Republican hands. Now, as head of the powerful Finance Committee in a DFL-controlled Senate, Marty believes he has the votes to make SF 5 a reality. "Minnesota is a leading state for this, and we don't have to be," he said. "We can do something about this." Similar legislation is working its way through the House.

Stolen converters have quickly mushroomed into a multimillion-dollar market. Late last year, the U.S. Justice Department — aided by state and local law enforcement across the country, including in Minnesota — busted a sophisticated network of thieves, dealers and processors who were selling stolen converters to a metal refinery for tens of millions of dollars.

Marty said the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators has told him Minnesota's law, if passed, could become a national model. The legislation also is supported by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police.

The proposed legislation is a common-sense measure that attacks the problem at its source. The Legislature should pass it without delay.