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Local thieves have been driving a dramatic increase in stolen catalytic converters statewide, and Missouri lawmakers are hoping an effort to curb these brazen thefts will eventually pay off.

A catalytic converter is the device attached to a vehicle’s exhaust pipe to help reduce pollutants. The value of precious metals — rhodium, palladium and platinum — in a converter is the primary reason for the increase in thefts.

Thieves can make off with this part in a matter of minutes and fetch up to $300 per converter at a scrap yard, and as much as $1,500 if it comes from a hybrid model.

But the repairs can cost drivers anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

In Columbia, police reports that mentioned “catalytic” were filed only eight times in 2019, according to data provided by the Columbia Police Department.

That number rose tenfold in 2020. The word “catalytic” can be found 80 times in reports and 189 times in 2021.

So far in 2022, “catalytic” has been found 39 times in police reports. That doesn’t necessarily mean that a catalytic converter was stolen, Pitts noted in an April 15 email, but it is a good indication that a potential crime has been committed.

Columbia’s surge in thefts is emblematic of a statewide and national problem. A recent study shows that thefts across the country increased by 33% between January and April, compared to the same time last year.

The same study shows that thefts more than quadruped nationwide in 2021: Nearly 66,000 converters were stolen in 2021, while 14,300 were reported stolen in 2020.

Only 37 thefts occurred in Missouri in 2019, but the number increased more than 600% to 291 in 2020.

An additional increase of more than 200% occurred in 2021 statewide after 920 catalytic converter thefts were reported. So far in 2022, there have been 279 thefts in Missouri.

In 2020, Missouri ranked No. 7 nationally in catalytic converter thefts and No. 11 in 2021.

One way of looking at this is to check the number of claims car owners have made to their insurance companies.

In Missouri, insurance giant State Farm only reported 16 catalytic converter claims in 2019 and paid out $12,600. This increased to 285 in 2020, paying out $363,000, and a whopping 734 claims in 2021, adding up to $1 million in payouts.

Nationally, State Farm reported just above 2,500 claims in 2019, increasing to over 10,000 in 2020 and over 32,000 in 2021. Payouts for those years: $4.6 million in 2019, $20 million in 2020 and $62.7 million in 2021.

The prevalence of catalytic converters is tied to stricter emission rules for cars worldwide.

Polluted air from a car’s engine passes through a catalytic converter before entering the muffler and exiting through the tail pipe.

The precious metals in a ceramic or aluminum oxide coating — rhodium, palladium and platinum — act to convert harmful carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide into water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Rhodium is currently the most expensive precious metal in the world: One gram is currently priced at $447. Palladium is the second most expensive, priced at $63 per gram, and platinum at $33 per gram.

If a car suddenly makes a loud sound when it accelerates, the catalytic converter is probably missing.

Thieves can simply cut off converters with a hacksaw and sell it at a scrap yard or on the black market. The converters can then be sold to metal recyclers who extract and sell the metals.

One route Missouri lawmakers are taking to curb these thefts is to make it difficult for thieves to sell stolen converters to salvage and scrap yards.

Right now, scrap yard owners are required to collect this information from a seller: a driver’s license number, date and time of transaction, a photo of the seller and the license plate of the seller’s car.

Last session, Missouri Rep. Don Mayhew, R-Crocker, introduced House Bill 2574 to add two items to that list:

Some auto shops and metal dealers have voiced opposition saying those additions will add more paperwork and complications for shop owners.

“If they object to just a tiny amount of additional accountability, then perhaps they’re not too concerned about whether or not stolen catalytic converters are moving through their place of business,” Mayhew said.

“Right now there is absolutely no way for them to know one way or the other — and certainly there’s not an incentive for them not to accept a stolen catalytic converter.”

HB 2574 passed out of the state House of Representatives last session with 129 votes, but the Legislature ended its work before the Missouri Senate had a chance to vote on it.

Mayhew said he is confident the bill “stands a good chance of passing next session.”

Opponents of the bill said it targets and threatens small businesses.

Hi, my name is Charlie Drape and I am a Local Government reporter for Spring 2021. Reach me at cmdfd2@umsystem.edu, or 573-882-5700.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

City and County Government editor 573-882-4557 anklamf@missouri.edu

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