Criminals stealing catalytic converters from petrol vehicles – and inflicting vital harm when doing so – are going unpunished with police forces charging thieves in only one per cent of instances within the final 5 years.
In 20 police power areas reviewed, round 50,000 thefts of catalytic converters have been reported between 2017 and 2021.
Nevertheless, fewer than 550 of those cases resulted in a thief being charged, based on figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats and reported by the BBC.
Cat burglars are getting away with it: New figures gained by the Liberal Democrats recommend that simply 1% of catalytic converter thefts from vehicles within the final 5 years has resulted in felony fees
The occasion despatched a Freedom of Data request to all forces in England and Wales, with 20 offering full knowledge.
A whole of fifty,223 thefts of catalytic converters have been reported within the five-year interval throughout these 20 constabularies.
Nevertheless, a suspect was charged in solely 548 of those cases, the figures offered steered.
Full figures from a few of the greatest forces – together with West Midlands Police and Higher Manchester Police – weren’t made obtainable.
Within the 20 power areas surveyed, the variety of thefts surged from simply 742 being reported in 2017 to a whopping 19,451 instances in 2020.
There was a decline in catalytic converter thefts in 2021, dropping to fifteen,780 instances, although the Lib Dems stated this was probably resulting from it being the primary full yr of the Covid pandemic.
In 20 police power areas reviewed, round 50,000 thefts of catalytic converters have been reported between 2017 and 2021
Catalytic converters take gases produced by petrol engines and convert them into water vapour and fewer dangerous emissions through a sequence of chemical reactions
Palladium contained in the units is extraordinarily precious, which is why gangs are concentrating on vehicles
The units are fitted to all petrol vehicles manufactured from 1993.
They’re designed to cut back the dangerous pollution emitted from automobile exhaust pipes by taking the gases produced and changing them into water vapour and fewer dangerous emissions through a sequence of chemical reactions.
The units are made up of an array of precious supplies together with palladium, rhodium and platinum – and felony gangs are nicely conscious of this small fortune saved beneath your automobile.
The mixed worth of all catalytic converters taken between 2019 and 2021 was greater than £16million, based on calculations by insurer Direct Line final yr.
With gangs solely within the expensive metals inside, the strategies through which the units are faraway from vehicles parked along with the highway and on driveways are comparatively rudimentary.
In lots of instances, thieves noticed the components off the automobile’s exhaust system as a way to take away them as rapidly as doable and escape undetected.
This photograph offered by the Metropolitan Police exhibits plenty of stolen catalytic converters recovered by officers in London in 2021
Insurance coverage claims to switch a catalytic converter that has been sawed away from the exhaust system by thieves might be as a lot as £3,000
This in flip may cause substantial harm to autos, and in some instances makes older fashions uneconomical to restore so they’re written off by insurers.
Evaluation of 10,000 storage payments in 2019 by MotorEasy discovered that the typical price to switch a catalytic converter was as a lot as £1,300. Nevertheless, AA Insurance coverage stated in 2020 that claims linked to wreck prompted when the units have been sawed away from the exhaust can quantity to something between £2,000 and £3,000.
Police tricks to maintain your automobile protected from catalytic converter thieves
1. If doable, park in a locked storage or in a well-lit, densely populated space
2. If you do not have entry to a storage, park near fences, partitions or kerbs with the exhaust being closest to the barrier; this may make the theft harder
3. Keep away from mounting your automobile on the kerb to park because it offers thieves quick access
4. In case your catalytic converter’s bolted on ask your native storage to weld the bolts to make it harder to take away
5. Take into account a ‘cage clamp’ which locks across the converter
6. Communicate to your automobile dealership a few tilt sensor that prompts the alarm if somebody tries to jack up your automobile
7. In the event you see somebody performing suspiciously underneath a automobile, report it to the police
Whereas all post-1993 petrol vehicles have them, older fashions of petrol-electric hybrid autos are generally focused by thieves as a result of they comprise the next focus of valuable metals and are typically much less corroded.
Insurer Admiral has beforehand stated that hybrid fashions usually attacked embody the Honda Jazz, Toyota Prius, Toyota Auris and Lexus RX of all generations and ages.
By far the very best variety of thefts of the emissions controlling units within the five-year interval reviewed by the Lib Dems have been recorded in London, with 36,586 instances.
Simply 544 of those crimes have been solved by the Met, it stated.
In Hertfordshire, in 2020, 915 instances have been recorded, although none resulted in fees for criminals.
In South Yorkshire that yr, police have been informed of 669 thefts, once more with no convictions.
The Liberal Democrats have referred to as for extra to be finished to crack down on the issue, together with extra seen neighborhood policing to discourage thieves.
Richmond Park MP and Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney stated there’s a ‘catalytic converter theft epidemic’ in Britain, however in far too many cases the gangs accountable ‘get away with it’.
‘On the very least, folks ought to be capable to anticipate that if one thing is stolen from their automobile will probably be correctly investigated,’ she added.
Responding to the report, a Residence Workplace spokesperson informed the BBC: ‘We recognise the influence that theft can have on victims and we would like offenders charged and delivered to justice within the courts.
‘For the reason that Nationwide Infrastructure Crime Discount Partnership was arrange in 2020, there was vital success in tackling steel theft by co-ordinated nationwide motion in opposition to scrap steel sellers – together with a marked improve in enforcement motion from police and companion companies.’
