Keep an eye on your catalytic converter. Its days under your car might be numbered.
The police chiefs in Chichester and Concord know this. Both say reports of stolen catalytic converters – which contain a pair of precious metals – are on pace to top overall numbers from previous years in their jurisdictions.
Concord police have arrested four people in two incidents dating back 14 months, but these are tough cases to crack.
The trouble is, catalytic converters, for some unknown reason, don’t include identifying serial numbers, and that’s what frustrates Chichester Police Chief Pat Clark.
He says that, in essence, his people must catch someone red-handed to make an arrest. To residents of his town, he says, open your ears, eyes and mouths.
“Cutting an exhaust pipe at 2 in the morning will make a lot of noise,” Clark said. “People hear something and then they call the next morning and then we look at it and the exhaust pipe is missing and that does me no good.”
The crooks are mining for rhodiun, a version of platinum, and palladium, both buried deep within the converter and used to filter toxic emissions from a vehicle’s exhaust system.
There’s a routine. And a setting . The cover of darkness. A crowded parking lot. Squirm your way underneath the vehicle, looking for those that have breathing room off the ground, like an SUV, for easier access.
Use a sawzall to cut the converter free from the metal exhaust pipes holding it in place, then disappear into the night, destined for a precious metal recycling center in exchange for money.
Hundreds of dollars are paid out. The next morning, the owner of the victimized vehicle will receive a warm morning greeting, featuring a car that sounds like a jackhammer and won’t budge, and up to a $1,000 cost to fix the problem with a replacement converter.
Clark, Concord Police Chief Brad Osgood and other police chiefs said experienced thieves can complete the mission in a minute or two. Others may take 10 minutes or longer.
Either way, though, several hundred dollars for a job that takes 10 minutes or less isn’t bad.
Clark, desperate for a break, posted a call for help online earlier this month, writing, “Please if you hear something that does not sound normal at night (like a sawzall cutting metal) please call. If it ends up being nothing, no harm but we really need help putting a stop to this.”
He’s had as many as 10 cases reported this year. Palladium and platinum are two of the four precious metals, and the demand for both has skyrocketed, passing the worth of gold because of the recent push toward pollution-control devices for cars and trucks.
And with no markings to identify the converter’s sales history and no formal structure in place to monitor private sales to recyclers, accusing someone of stealing isn’t easy.
“Unless you match up the cuts on the vehicle with the converter, there is no way, other than catching someone in the act,” Clark said. “I don’t know how we are going to catch who’s doing this.”
He continued: “If someone has a bunch of these items in their car, they’d better have a good reason, or maybe we would seize the car and get a search warrant.”
That’s apparently what police have done in Concord. Osgood told me three people were arrested last year, and another earlier this year, this one for stealing converters from CAT buses.
Concord police saw the CAT burglar with as many as four catalytic converters, Osgood said, but he echoed Clark’s thoughts. The crime is on an upswing and arrests and prosecution are difficult.
Osgood counted 16 arrests made by the Concord Police Department all in last year. After only two months this year, that number is four.
“I imagine they get them out fast,” Osgood said, “and get them to a recycling center fast.”
There are no official regulations to guide buyers who believe they’re being offered stolen goods. It’s created an undercurrent of suspicion, targeted at businesses that have no obligation to follow rules that would decrease profits.
At New England Catalyst and Refining in Manchester, owner Wallace Titcomb says he asks customers to leave if he senses items have been stolen. But calling the police with no proof makes him nervous.
“I tell them if it’s stolen, I’ll be the first person to turn you in,” Titcomb said. “How the hell am I supposed to know if it’s stolen?”
Meanwhile, the crime wave, this crime wave, is growing.
“I have seen it bad before, in 2008, but this is worse,” Titcomb told me. “And with today’s drug problem, that makes it worse.”
Osgood says he sees the numbers climbing across New England. He’s plugged in, affiliated with a law enforcement agency that posts bulletins on various crimes.
“It’s not just a New Hampshire-based problem,” Osgood said. “It’s New England-wide.”
Yet, like a tornado slicing through a defined, narrow path, this crime, while damaging in one area, might not touch an area nearby.
Pembroke hasn’t seen it. “We have not had any,” chief Dwayne Gilman told me.
Pittsfield hasn’t had a problem either. “I have not seen any reports, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” chief Joe Collins said. “I’ve heard it’s become a problem because of the price of those metals.”
Those metals are hidden, part of the catalytic converter’s heartbeat. Conservationists know it’s there, appreciating its filtering properties.
Elsewhere, people who need cash sometimes see the catalytic converter as an ATM. It’s convenient, used in all cars, and it pays off fast.
Prices for palladium and platinum have soared in recent years, topping all other precious metals.
So while there may be gold in them thar hills, there’s a pair of valuable metals in them thar cars.
Actually, underneath them.
“Precious metals have gone up in price,” Clark said. “And when those prices started going up, a lot of people said the same thing, that they could make money on this. And they are.”