A Rogers used car dealership last week reported to police that catalytic converters had been stolen off three of its vehicles -- a local occurrence of a problem that has intensified nationwide over the past few years.
An analysis by BeenVerified, a public data company, found that catalytic converter thefts in 2021 more than quadrupled from 2020.
Catalytic converter thefts continue to grow in 2022. In the first four months, BeenVerified estimates nearly 26,000 thefts nationwide, an increase of 33% year-on-year.
Arkansas had 19 reported catalytic converter thefts in 2019, 58 in 2020 and 275 in 2021, according to BeenVerified.
A catalytic converter is an Environmental Protection Agency-approved exhaust emission control device usually found beneath the vehicle as part of the exhaust system. Thieves are stealing catalytic converters from all types of automobiles for their precious metals. Specifically, hybrid and lower-emission vehicles contain more precious metals in their converters and certain larger vehicles have multiple catalytic converters, making both high-value targets, according to a June 2021 news release from Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office.
Rutledge issued the warning last year saying catalytic converter thefts were on the rise and advised how people can protect their automobiles from thieves.
"These criminals are stealing catalytic converters that will end up costing thousands of dollars to fix," Rutledge said. "I want Arkansans to know the signs beforehand so they can protect themselves."
The catalytic converter is the most important pollution control device on a vehicle, according to the EPA.
Catalytic converters have been installed on most 1975 and newer passenger cars and light-duty pickups by the manufacturers to reduce exhaust emissions and allow the vehicles to meet federal standards, according to the EPA.
Thieves will make $50 to $875 per converter depending on the type of vehicle and the precious metals content, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
The precious metals in a converter include rhodium, platinum and palladium, according to Todd Foreman, director of Law Enforcement Outreach for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
Cameron Selvey, service writer at University Automotive and Tire in Fayetteville, said extracting the precious materials is a process. A legitimate parts buyer will break a converter down, then send it to a company to determine the value of the precious metals.
Thieves likely aren't doing the hard work, Selvey said. Some might be able to get a fraction of the metals, he said.
Converter theft started to increase across the country in early 2021, Foreman said.
A thief with an electric saw can make two simple cuts and have a converter off a vehicle in under a minute, Foreman said.
Shane Lyttle, owner of JNS Auto Repair in Siloam Springs, said tell-tale signs of catalytic converter theft include the "check engine" light may come on or the vehicle will run very loud.
Selvey compared the sound to noise at a dirt or race track.
"You will wake up the neighborhood for sure," he said.
A vehicle owner has a few options when replacing s stolen converter, Lyttle said. One is to get a replacement from a dealership. That can cost from $500 to more than $1,000, he said.
The other option is a universal catalytic converter that is welded into place. That can cost $150 to $200, he said. That's just the cost of the part.
Adam McInnis, Bentonville Police public information officer, said catalytic converter thefts have happened in hotel and public parking lots in the city, but officials have not seen a significant increase in that kind of theft the last few months.
"It's a quick way to make a buck to fuel substance abuse or whatever their vice is," he said.
Keith Foster, Rogers Police Department spokesman, said similar incidents seem to go in waves.
"We will take several at once, then it dies down only to pick up again," he said.
Capt. Gary Crain with the University of Arkansas Fayetteville Police Department said the department handled 23 cases of stolen converters in 2021 and has had eight cases so far this year.
Crain said it's difficult to catch people stealing the converters.
"The time it takes to steal the catalytic converter is a minute or two and the thief is gone," he said. "Little to no evidence is left at the scene."
Stolen catalytic converters cannot be matched to a certain vehicle or victim if not engraved or identified in some manner by the vehicle owners, Crain said. He encouraged people to engrave or otherwise mark their catalytic converters for identification.
He also advised people to avoid parking in isolated areas.
"Contact your service representative to see if the catalytic converter can be secured to the vehicle to make it harder to steal," Crain said.
Foster urged people to keep their cars locked and if they have access to inside storage, use it. Motion lights and cameras could help identify the thieves, he said.
Peter Taber, 40, of Colcord, Okla., was arrested last July for stealing catalytic converters from six vehicles at Siloam Collision Center in Siloam Springs, according to court documents. The converters were valued at $600 each, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A West Siloam Springs police office stopped Taber and found him in possession of two catalytic converters in a suitcase, according to the affidavit.
Taber pleaded guilty in January to commercial burglary and theft of property. He was placed on five years of state supervised probation and ordered to pay $3,600 to the collision center.
Bryan Sexton, Benton County's chief deputy prosecuting attorney, said depending on the case, theft of a catalytic converter could be prosecuted as theft for the part itself or as criminal mischief in the first degree for the damage done to the car or both.
Given the cost of the part and repair work, depending on the damage done to the vehicle, a criminal case could easily reach a felony damage amount, Sexton said.
A catalytic converter, seen here on Wednesday June 22 2022, reduces toxic emissions found in vehicle exhaust. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
A catalytic converter, seen here Wednesday June 22 2022 on a Lexus RX350 being serviced at Straightline Automotive in Centerton, reduces toxic emissions found in vehicle exhaust. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)