Catalytic Converter Stolen From North Babylon Honda: Police
NORTH BABYLON, NY — A catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle in North Babylon, Suffolk County police told Patch.
At around 5:15 a.m. on Thursday, a resident of Cherubina Lane in North Babylon reported that the catalytic converter was stolen from her 2003 Honda, police said.
According to the car’s owner, two people in a black SUV sped off with the car part after a neighbor tried to stop them.
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The report follows numerous other catalytic converter thefts reported in Suffolk County and around the United States in the last few years.
In August, a catalytic converter was stolen from another 2003 Honda in Bay Shore, police told Patch.
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According to Car and Driver, Honda Accords are one of the top cars that catalytic converter thieves target most because it takes “only minutes” to remove one with a small reciprocating saw.
In 2023, a Shirley man was sentenced after stealing catalytic converters in Wading River, Patch reported.
In 2022, an investigation revealed that two Long Island men were part of a multimillion-dollar national catalytic converter theft network.
Catalytic converters are part of a vehicle’s exhaust system that reduce the toxic gas and pollutants from a vehicle’s internal combustion engine by turning them into safe emissions. Catalytic converters use precious metals in their center and are regularly targeted for theft due to the high monetary value of the metals.
The black-market price for catalytic converters can be more than $1,000 each, depending on the type of vehicle and what state it is from. One also takes less than a minute to steal.
Additionally, catalytic converters often lack unique serial numbers, VIN numbers, or other identifying features, making them difficult to trace to their lawful owner.
According to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converter thefts have seen a dramatic increase in recent years.
In 2018, there were 1,298 catalytic converter thefts for which a claim was filed. In 2019, it was 3,389 thefts with a claim. In 2020, catalytic converter theft claims jumped massively to 14,433, a 325 percent increase in a single year.
The thefts typically happen at night and thieves use a reciprocating saw to cut the pipes on either side of the converter, taking just a few minutes.
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