Torrance police warn of ‘drastic’ increase in catalytic converter thefts

Torrance police Tuesday warned of a recent “drastic” increase in thefts of catalytic converters from motor vehicles.

“To respond to this criminal trend, the Torrance Police Department … initiated a directed-enforcement operation to combat these thefts on June 7th,” police said in a statement.

“Over the past three weeks, officers have made 20 arrests specific to catalytic converter thefts,” police said. “This has included arresting suspects with stolen catalytic converters and other stolen property, burglary tools as well as evidence of other crimes involving illegal narcotics, and identity theft.”

In some cases, suspects have been arrested while awaiting trail for stealing catalytic converters, police said.

“These incidents have occurred during the late-night hours, and the community has been instrumental in assisting our officers as they have been reporting these crimes while they are occurring,” police said.

Anyone victimized by a catalytic converter theft was urged to call their local law enforcement organization.

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