Time was, a person lying under a car meant a repair job under way.

Nowadays, even in broad daylight, it may mean a crime in progress.

Using a battery-powered saw, a thief can slip under a car and within 30 seconds remove a catalytic converter from the car's exhaust system.

"It makes an ungodly sound when it hits the muffler, but it cuts through it like butter," Sgt. Sherman Buchanan of the Wilkens Precinct said of the unsettling sound of saw meeting metal.

In the past year, police at the Wilkens station have seen a dramatic increase in thefts of catalytic converters in the area.

The ease of stealing a catalytic converter, combined with the rising price of platinum that the converters contain, may account for the crime's popularity, which "started off slow and then it snowballed," Buchanan said.

Part of the exhaust machinery that reduces engine emission poisons, a catalytic converter typically contains platinum as the catalyst for a chemical reaction and is worth from $100 to $250 on the recycle market, he said.

Making matters more difficult is the fact the parts carry no identifiable markings.

While an increase was seen in each of the county's 10 precincts, Wilkens had the sharpest rise and accounted for more than one-third of the total incidents countywide, according to Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey.

Records for Wilkens, which includes Oella, part of Catonsville and all of Arbutus, Halethorpe, Lansdowne, Riverview and Baltimore Highlands, show 111 incidents from Jan. 1 through Sept. 8 this year, compared with only 16 and three for that period in 2007 and 2006, respectively.

Most of the thefts take place on parking lots.

Although police have used overnight surveillance and recommend lighting and surveillance cameras to deter thieves, police admit that many incidents occur in broad daylight.

"People have to be more vigilant," Buchanan said. When you see someone under a car, you have to wonder what they are doing."

He recommends engraving catalytic converters with a driver's license number or other unique number so the stolen parts can be traced to the legal owner.

Probably the most valuable deterrent, however, would be legislation to curb the sale of stolen catalytic converters, according to Buchanan.

Councilman Sam Moxley, whose 1st District constituency includes the Wilkens Precinct, said last week that he would look into proposing legislation that could regulate scrap metal dealers in Baltimore County.

Although the state has relevant legislation, it does not apply to several jurisdictions including Baltimore County, according to Thomas Peddicord, the County Council's legislative counsel.

At Moxley's request, he was researching the issue to see what laws Baltimore City and other county jurisdictions have proposed to curb the catalytic converter thefts, he said.

Del. Steve DeBoy, whose District 12A constituency includes most of the Wilkens Precinct, said he would look into the potential for additional regulations at the state level.

"I know it has become a very big problem," he said, referring to the crime trend.

"It's definitely a statewide thing."

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user comments (1)

user stevetowson says...

Being in the automotive field I can attest to the fact that this is certainly a growing problem, and the fact that recyclers will buy perfectly good converters with no questions asked needs to be addressed.
We've repaired a number of vehicles with stolen converters, and recently had a truck come in with an exhaust noise. We found that the problem was a pipe cut halfway through. Someone was apparently caught in the act, and fled before they finished. we simply welded the pipes back together, and sent the customer on his way.

Posted 8:23 AM, 09.29.08

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