BOULDER, Colo. – The Boulder Police Department gave away hundreds of catalytic converter anti-theft kits on Saturday, an effort to address one of the fastest growing crimes in the state of Colorado.
Thieves can make thousands of dollars stealing and selling catalytic converters, which contain highly sought-after metals.
“They can oftentimes get a couple hundred dollars from those metals and that's just for a couple of minutes work,” said Mitch Trujillo, the community services officer for the Boulder Police Department. “It ends up being pretty profitable for a thief.”
It can also be expensive for car owners to replace, depending on the type of car.
“Between $2,000 and $4,000 to replace,” Trujillo said.
A Denver7 investigation earlier this year found thieves stole nearly 4,000 catalytic converters since 2020 in Denver and Boulder alone.
Those thefts have become a big concern for people like Darren Carbary.
“With the increase of theft nowadays, you know, it’s really scary,” Carbary said. “I think about it all the time. You know, we do off street parking so you never know anybody can come and get that. It’s thousands of dollars.”
That’s why he signed up to get an anti-theft kit from the Boulder Police Saturday.
The kit contains material, including dye, that will allow drivers or their mechanic to etch a VIN onto their catalytic converter.
That number then becomes part of law enforcement databases.
“It actually records it with the State of Colorado,” Trujillo said.
Police say etching helps them track stolen catalytic converters and makes it harder for thieves to sell one.
In addition to the catalytic converter kit, Boulder Police also handed out steering wheel club locks to owners of cars that are at high risk for theft.
According to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, the top stolen vehicles during the first half of 2022 included the Chevrolet Silverado, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Sportage, Kia Optima, Hyundai Elantra, Ford F-250, Hyundai Tucson, Honda Civic, GMC Sierra and Honda Accord.