Thieves in Santa Cruz have found a new target—the catalytic converters under cars that limit their exhaust output.
Thieves in Santa Cruz have found a new target—the catalytic converters under cars that limit their exhaust output. All vehicles less than 30 years old are required to have the device, and it is illegal to drive without them. But they are also easy to remove. All that it takes is a pipe cutter, and the device can be whisked away and sold for scrap metal, at $20 to $300 per piece. The converters themselves cost upward of $1,000 to replace.
Police say that there is very little they can do to solve the problem, but warn that certain vehicles are more prone to having their catalytic converters stolen. Among the most vulnerable are Toyota trucks, dating from the mid-1980s to the 1990s. Read more at KSBW.
