A task force of eight Eastside law enforcement agencies, as well as the King County Sheriff’s Office, will pool their resources to address a surge in catalytic converter thefts across the region, according to a Bellevue Police Department blog post.
Last year, the sheriff’s office alone received 1,425 reports of stolen catalytic converters, a fivefold increase from the 285 reports the office received in 2020 and a sharp increase from the 11 reports received in 2019.
Bellevue police received 458 reports of catalytic converter thefts last year, a near sevenfold increase from the 67 reports received in 2020, according to Bellevue police.
While no statewide data is available on catalytic converter thefts, a surge in reported cases prompted lawmakers to recently look at legislation that would add the precious metals found in catalytic converters to a list of transactions that scrap metal businesses will need to record.
Catalytic converters are devices that transform the toxic exhaust gases from internal combustion engines into pollutants that are less toxic. Converters are sold for the precious metals that are inside the muffler, including platinum, palladium and rhodium.
The eight Eastside law enforcement agencies joining the task force are the Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Medina, Clyde Hill, Mercer Island and Issaquah police departments. The agencies will share case information and resources to address a growing and “costly” problem for owners who spend thousands of dollars replacing a stolen catalytic converter, according to the post.
Officials from the various departments began having conversations on pooling resources in November, but recently created the task force and built up a database in hopes of trying to identify patterns to get to “the bigger fish,” said Meeghan Black, Bellevue police spokesperson.
“These thieves are hopping from city to city stealing these converters in a matter of minutes,” said Bellevue Police Chief Wendell Shirley at a news conference.
The seemingly low-risk and high-reward aspects appear to be driving the surge in thefts of catalytic converters in King County and elsewhere, law enforcement officials have said.
Since its recent creation, the task force has arrested 11 individuals for stealing catalytic converters, according to the post.
The Bellevue Police Department is also partnering with local businesses to launch Project CATCON ID, which will promote “theft prevention techniques.” One of these will offer people the opportunity to have their catalytic converters etched and highlighted with bright high-temperature paint.