Long Beach police and fleet services will host an event Saturday to help prevent the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles, which are valued for the type of metals they contain.
Long Beach residents can have their catalytic converters etched with their vehicle’s license plate number from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the Long Beach Health Department parking lot.
Police say that having the devices marked with identifying information means they can be identified as stolen, and thieves can be arrested and prosecuted.
A new state law took effect on Jan. 1 requiring car dealers to etch the devices with the vehicle’s identification number, or VIN, but older cars generally do not have this marking.
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Theft of catalytic converters spiked during the pandemic, according to claims data released late last year by State Farm, the largest auto insurer in California. In 2021, there were 32,000 claims for stolen catalytic converters nationwide; in 2022, there were 45,000. In the first six months of 2023, however, there have been just 14,500, compared to 23,000 in the same period last year.
The decline may be due to the reduced value of rhodium, one of the precious metals that thieves seek in stealing the devices, which reduces toxins that are spewed into the air. In 2022, the value of this metal was $14,000 per troy ounce — more than the value of gold — but has since fallen to $4,550 per troy ounce.
Residents who want to have their vehicle information etched must live in Long Beach, be the registered owner of the vehicle and bring their driver’s license and registration.
For available time slots, click here.
For arrival instructions and directions, click here.
