On September 17,2024 the Livermore Police Department, along with Las Positas College, hosted another catalytic converter etching event. The event took place at the Las Positas College Automotive Department where the student technicians assisted in etching your license plate number onto your catalytic converter.
Catalytic converter theft is a big problem here in California, and they hope that hosting these events will not necessarily solve the problem but throw a roadblock or speed bump in the way of the thieves to try to slow them down. Thieves may climb under cars, see that the catalytic converter has the license plate number etched onto it, which they don’t want in their possession in case they get caught, and will unfortunately move on to other vehicles that don’t have theirs etched.
Having your catalytic converter etched also “makes it more difficult for them to take them to the recyclers because the recyclers don’t want to be caught with those either,” said the Livermore Police Department’s Crime Prevention Specialist Nichole Aguon.
If thieves don’t want to steal etched catalytic converters and the recyclers won’t take it if it is etched either, this proves that etching your license plate number onto your catalytic converter can help to decrease theft of those items.
Catalytic converters are used to burn up emissions that would otherwise be released into the air and to reduce exhaust emissions. California is one of the few states that has enacted regulations that require a catalytic converter to operate your vehicle.
Brian Hagopian, who works for Las Positas College in the Automotive Department, states that “it takes hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxidized nitrogen and turns them into harmless nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water.”
They have become popular with thieves because of how valuable they are. The inside of catalytic converters are made of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and cerium, which are all precious metals. They host etching events as a service to the community of Livermore, and it helps the students at Las Positas College to gain almost on-the-job training because of the similarity with the car lineup to working at a production shop. Since starting the catalytic converter etching program, the Livermore Police Department has seen a downward progression. There have been about 5 instances so far in our agency and the agencies around us where during a car stop, etched catalytic converters have been recovered.
Both the Livermore Police Department and Las Positas College try to host this etching event twice a semester, or three to four times a year. This last event has been the sixth one in the city of Livermore. November thirteenth will be their next etching event held at the same location.
