Gov. Kathy Hochul orders crackdown on catalytic converter thefts

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday directed State Police to crack down on thefts of vehicle catalytic converters in areas where the crime is prevalent and signed legislation requiring vehicle dismantlers to maintain records of receipt of the valuable pollution control systems.

Hochul's announcement comes amid soaring numbers of converter thefts on Long Island, according to county police.

In Nassau County through August, 1,549 were reported stolen compared with 445 for all of 2021.

In Suffolk, 819 converters were stolen through August, compared with 289 in 2021.

Converters contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium that thieves often sell for $200 to $500 to chop shops and scrap metal dealers.

Experts attribute the increase in converter thefts to the difficult post-pandemic economy and rising prices businesses will pay for rare and precious metals.

"We're going to double down on these efforts because it's a serious problem," Hochul said at a news conference at the Troop L State Police barracks in East Farmingdale.

"No one should have to worry about this," Hochul said. "You shouldn't have to go to bed at night wondering if somebody's stealing this valuable commodity."

Hochul said State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles, using existing resources, will work with local law enforcement in areas with high numbers of thefts, which she said often involve organized operations that cross state lines.

The legislation, which Hochul signed Monday, adds catalytic converters as a major vehicle component and requires dismantlers and scrap processors to maintain detailed records of the devices they purchase.

Every 60 days, businesses will have to report the number of catalytic converters received during the period or face misdemeanor charges and fines.

The legislation also requires new car dealerships to stock catalytic converter etching kits that can be used to put unique serial numbers on converters so they can be tracked if stolen.

The state will provide the kits at cost to dealers, officials said.

The bill, co-sponsored by State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills), takes effect in 180 days.

In a statement, Lawrence Schillinger, compliance counsel for the New York chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, a trade group for vehicle dismantlers, said the new law will steer sellers of catalytic converters away from state-licensed recyclers and toward organized theft rings and the "dark web," an anonymized portion of the internet where criminal activity can occur. 

"The end result of this ill-conceived legislation will deny law enforcement agencies the ability to track sales of potentially stolen catalytic converters," Schillinger said.

In response, Hochul told reporters Monday that vehicle dismantlers can "be part of the solution" in stopping the illegal sale of catalytic converters and must ensure "they don't become unwittingly part of the process."

A catalytic converter turns pollutants from automobile exhaust into less toxic gases.

Converters can cost from $1,000 to $3,000 to replace, depending on a vehicle's make and model.

Converters are attached to a vehicle's muffler under the chassis and can be stolen in a matter of minutes, police said.

Eric Tenner, of Huntington Station, said four thieves stole the catalytic converter from his 2004 Honda Accord on Aug. 1.

The unit cost $1,200 to replace, said Tanner, who paid $500 to cover the insurance deductible.

"It's money out of my pocket that I don't have," Tanner told reporters at Hochul's news conference.

State Police Maj. Stephen Udice, commander of Troop L, said "stealing a catalytic converter may only take a few minutes, but leaves a victim with thousands of dollars in damage."

Nationwide, the number of reported catalytic converter thefts increased from roughly 1,300 in 2018 to more than 52,000 in 2021, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which tracks crimes reported to insurance companies.

Hochul Monday also announced that $20 million in State Division of Criminal Justice Services funds will soon be available to law enforcement agencies across the state to purchase technology that can be used to combat catalytic converter thefts and other crimes.

The funds, which law enforcement agencies on Long Island can apply for, can be used for license plate readers and mobile and fixed surveillance cameras that could be used to track thieves, along with unmanned aerial vehicles, gunshot detection devices and smart equipment for patrol vehicles, officials said. 

Hochul, a Democrat, is running for reelection against Republican Lee Zeldin on Nov. 8.

With Vera Chinese

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.