Report: Catalytic converter thefts declining

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) Catalytic converter thefts have plagued the country for years, but some states are finally beginning to see those numbers come down.

Data from BeenVerified, a public data company, shows Kansas ranks 30 for the number of catalytic converter thefts per 100k registered automobiles. Automotive shops like Bill’s American Muffler say they’ve noticed the popularity of the car part decline.

“We were totally swamped I bet we did 10-20 day, and now, it slowed down to 8-10 a week,” said Cindy Austin, co-ower at Bill’s.

Shelby Hawk, a pipe builder and welder, at the shop, said thieves were after the part due to the precious metal that it contained.

“This holds rhodium platinum and a hint of platinum, they melt these down for that little tiny bit of those precious metals, those precious metals hold a lot of money and that’s why people are taking them,” said Hawk.

Now that the price of that metal has decreased, so has the value of the catalytic converter. Bill’s American Muffler Shop continues to work with Wichita police to cut down on the thefts.

“We used an asset-based material to put that up there, and then in return if the catalytic converter got stolen, then if they got the converter back they will be able to look at the database to get the converter back and give it to the owner,” Austin said.

Shelby said he’s happy to see the slowdown in thefts.

“Mainly for the customers, and not for me, because that takes away my revenue. But other than that, as long as we can help the customers we’re happy with that,” he said.