Rise in catalytic converter thefts, what you can do to protect your car

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Police are suggesting you mark a particular part on your car to stop thieves from taking it.  

Cars lined the street outside Grease Monkey Thursday evening to mark their car's catalytic converters.

Police have seen an increase in catalytic converter thefts across the county from 1,000 in 2018 to more than 52,000 last year.

"We've seen it increase here in Idaho Falls as well," Idaho Falls Police Capt. Jeremy Galbreaith said. "We had 85 catalytic converter thefts already this year."

Catalytic converters help clean gas fumes that come from a vehicle and contain several precious metals.

Idaho Falls Police say Toyotas or other imported cars seem to be the highest risk for theft, and insurance may not even cover the expense to replace them.

"We had a lady come in with her Toyota Prius, and she's like, 'my car's making a horrible sound. It sounds like the engine's just revving'," Grease Monkey auto-mechanic Chris Dougan said. "And what had happened is someone cut off her catalytic converter. And in order to fix her car, just to get that one piece of catalytic converter, is about 2800 bucks... And the insurance doesn't cover that on a lot of vehicles."

If your stolen converter is found, theres no way to reattach it, so deterring someone from stealing it is the best option.

"It's going to deter people when they go to lift up your car to check that they're going to see it's painted and they're going to say, 'it's not worth my time to do this because I won't be able to recycle it,'" Dougan said.

Grease Monkey mechanics say marking a converter takes a matter of minutes, which is why the police are teaming up and encouraging us to mark their car's catalytic converters.

"A police department can't do this all by itself," Capt. Galbreaith said. "We need community help and community involvement. And this is just one of those opportunities. So not only catalytic converter theft, but whatever the next thing is, think outside the box and partner up with the community in order to accomplish the mission."

If you missed the event, there are still ways to mark your catalytic converter at home. For example, by using a heat-safe label or high-temperature spray paint.

For more information on marking your car's catalytic converter, click HERE.