High number of catalytic converter thefts

After the number of cases has risen continuously since 2019, the LKA Lower Saxony is recording stagnation for the first time in 2022 - but at the still high level of a low four-digit number. This means that two to three catalytic converters are stolen every day in Lower Saxony.

They come in the dark or take advantage of the fact that cars are parked unobserved in large parking lots or on poorly lit streets: the catalytic converter thieves. It usually only takes a few minutes to silently separate or remove the catalytic converters with a cutting tool. These consist of various precious metals, which the perpetrators later sell.

The LKA Lower Saxony has been registering increasing numbers of cases across the country in its initial statistics for several years now. While these were in the double-digit range in 2019, they increased to a mid-three-digit number in 2020 and to a lower four-digit number in 2021. The number of cases in 2022 is also at this level. Whether older models or which vehicle types are particularly affected cannot be determined validly from the data available.

Drivers quickly notice that the catalytic converter is missing because the engine either no longer starts at all or constantly sounds unusually loud. The LKA recommends that those affected should then have the car transported to the nearest workshop immediately. When the catalytic converter is removed, the car not only loses its street legal status, the exhaust gas purification system also no longer works. As a result, high exhaust gas temperatures arise, which means an increased risk of fire. The LKA also advises you to file a report at the nearest police station or the online police station, link www.onlinewache.polizei.niedersachsen.de .

In order to protect your own car, vehicles should, if possible, be parked in a garage or on bright streets, advises the LKA. Technically it makes sense to use an inclination sensor, which, combined with an alarm system, sounds the alarm immediately when the car is raised.

Further tips and information on the phenomenon of catalytic converter theft can be found at the police crime prevention department .

Source: Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office

Also read: State-wide police operation against child pornography in North Rhine-Westphalia


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