The province is strengthening measures to deter the theft of catalytic converters, which are in hot demand because of the precious metals they contain.
Those metals can include platinum, rhodium and palladium, which has been soaring in value as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia currently leads the world in producing the rare metal, and fears that exports could be disrupted have prompted prices to spike — the metal was selling for $2,417 an ounce on Monday, higher than the price for gold.
Even before the conflict, however, the number of thefts of the devices in B.C. climbed from 89 in 2017 to 1,953 in 2021. Over the same period, the value of ICBC claims for catalytic converters shot up from just over $350,000 to more than $4 million.
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien said it’s easy to make several hundred dollars from a catalytic converter, an emission-control device attached to the underside of a vehicle. Vehicles without catalytic converters don’t meet clean-air standards.
But a change to the province’s Metal Dealers and Recyclers Regulation calls on all registered metal dealers to report every transaction — including information about sellers — to police on the day a sale is made.
“We are changing the rules to better fight thieves who steal catalytic converters,” said Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth. “These thefts create costs and consequences to the livelihoods of British Columbians and this change reduces the incentive to steal them in the first place.”
Catalytic converters, which can range in price from $200 to $1,500, have previously been allowed to be sold to metal dealers without information on the seller.
O’Brien said it’s a hard crime to prevent, although some people deflate the tires of vehicles they don’t use all the time so no one can crawl underneath. “The rest is just surveillance and being aware and reporting suspicious activity.”
In one case last year in Nanaimo, a catalytic converter was stolen from a van owned by BGC, formerly known as the Nanaimo Boys and Girls Club — leading to the cancellation of several outings and a $500 repair bill.
Last fall, an incident turned violent when a woman confronted two men stealing the catalytic converter from her vehicle and was pepper sprayed. The pair got away.
Ellice Automotive owner Neil Gustafson said catalytic-converter thefts haven’t been much of an issue among his customers, but he has heard that a couple of car lots were hit recently.
“It’s been ongoing for a long time,” he said.
