State Bill Aims to Deter Catalytic Converter Thefts in San Diego

Under the provisions of the bill, metal recyclers would be allowed to buy catalytic converters having clearly visible and untampered VINs.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): San Diego looks forward to State Bill SB 919 introduced by Sen. Brian Jones to put a stop to the dramatically rising cases of catalytic converter thefts in the city on the Pacific coast of California.

The bill, introduced last month, makes it mandatory for the devices to be marked clearly with vehicle identification numbers (VINs). Accordingly, new and used vehicle dealers would have to permanently mark the VIN on the catalytic converter before they are sold. This would help to identify the catalytic converters that are illegally removed from cars.

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Under the provisions of the bill, metal recyclers would be allowed to buy catalytic converters having clearly visible and untampered VINs. Moreover, they are required to keep detailed records of the sellers. These records should be produced before law enforcement agencies, when demanded.

The bill proposes drastic surge in fines for catalytic converter thefts. For instance, the first offence will be charged $1,000. The second violation will attract a fine of $2,000, with third and subsequent violations leading to fine of $4,000.

In 2021 alone, San Diego reported more than 2,000 cases of catalytic converter thefts, which represents a surge by over 423% from the prior year, said Summer Stephan, District Attorney. The number of thefts across the state of California totalled around 18,000, making it the top among U.S. states for catalytic converter thefts.

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