Mark Fischenich: Ask Us: Anti-theft kit one tool in broader catalytic converter fight

Mar. 26—Q: What prevents a thief from grinding off the ID number etched into a catalytic converter? It is very similar to grinding off the serial number on a firearm that enters the criminal culture. Thieves do not care about laws or serial numbers.

A: This question is in relation to a pilot program reported by The Free Press that was recently instituted by the Mankato Department of Public Safety. It allows people to register their vehicle with the department and receive a kit to take to a participating auto shop to have an ID number etched onto their catalytic converters for free.

Public Safety Director Amy Vokal doesn't dispute the reader's point that the ID numbers can be removed.

"There's nothing that prevents someone from grinding off the serial number," Vokal said.

For a number of reasons, though, that doesn't make the program useless.

First, there's deterrence. The kit — available during regular business hours at the front desk of the Public Safety Center — has warning stickers that are placed on a vehicle's front side windows: "WARNING: This Vehicle's CATALYTIC CONVERTER has been MARKED! Auto Theft Prevention Program. MN Commerce Fraud Bureau. www.ISRcodecheck.com."

So thieves that are paying attention know in advance that they are stealing a catalytic converter that will require the extra work of grinding off an ID number. They may decide it's easier to move on to the next vehicle.

Second, if police stop suspected thieves shortly after they've removed a catalytic converter from a vehicle's exhaust system, they may not have had time to grind off the ID number yet.

Or, if suspects are found to be in possession of multiple catalytic converters that have grinding marks on them ... .

"We're going to ask a few more questions," Vokal said.

The reader's question arrived before the passage of a new law, sponsored for several years by state Sen. John Marty, of Roseville, to make life more difficult for catalytic converter thieves.

Among other things, the legislation signed into law last week prohibits scrap dealers from purchasing catalytic converters that are without ID numbers linking the parts to the vehicle they were removed from. With some exceptions, it would be illegal for a scrap dealer to even possess a catalytic converter where the ID number has been removed.

So, Minnesota scrap dealers will be putting themselves in legal jeopardy — and also risking their scrap metal dealer license — if they buy sketchy catalytic converters, including ones with ground-off ID numbers.

With the stolen parts more difficult to sell in Minnesota, the thieves could take their catalytic converters to another state, but Vokal earlier this month participated in a press conference with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar highlighting Klobuchar's legislation to address the problem nationwide.

Even with the fate of the federal legislation uncertain, the Minnesota law is undermining the market here for hot catalytic converters.

Dan Schisel, an associate director of public safety, said he expects scrap dealers have a pretty good idea when they're dealing with someone involved in catalytic converter thefts. The dealers would have even less deniability if they were buying parts where the ID numbers had been removed.

"If you bring in 20 of them and they have the numbers ground off, that should be a red flag," Schisel said.

While neither Vokal nor Schisel said it, Ask Us Guy has noticed over the years that a desire for immediate gratification seems to be a common trait among many criminals, which might be why they don't like working eight hours a day for a paycheck that comes two weeks later.

Therefore, anything that makes it more complicated to turn a particular crime into immediate cash — such as needing to drive to the Dakotas or somewhere even more distant to fence the goods — is going to discourage some of the criminals from continuing to focus on that crime.

Vokal and Schisel, in separate interviews, each compared the fight against catalytic converter thefts to the efforts nearly 20 years ago to deal with the epidemic of meth labs in Minnesota. That included putting the cold medicine (and meth ingredient) pseudoephedrine behind the counter at pharmacies rather than on store shelves.

"We went from all kinds of meth labs one year to like three the next year. This is similar to that," Vokal said of the multi-pronged approach to the catalytic converter thefts. "That's where we start to change the game."

Some might point out that meth continues to be widely available, now coming from labs in Mexico and other foreign countries. But at least the meth labs and the associated environmental and property damage aren't afflicting rural Minnesota.

"We can only control what's within our reach," Schisel said. "I can't do anything with it in Mexico, but I can make my community safer."

And eliminating catalytic converter thefts would definitely bring applause from a growing number of victims. State Farm reported last fall it had received 43,219 claims for catalytic converter thefts in the previous 12 months — double the number from the prior year and a 400% increase since 2019. The insurance company also reported that Minnesota had the fifth most claims, despite its middle-of-the-pack population.

The company provided a bit of background, too, on why a catalytic converter is such an attractive target for thieves.

"A part of the exhaust system required in U.S. vehicles since 1975, it helps reduce the contaminants emitted by the exhaust," State Farm reported. "Because of the rare metals that are inside catalytic converters — including platinum, palladium or rhodium — this auto part can be worth several hundred to several thousand dollars."

Thieves slide under a vehicle that has high clearance or even jack up a car that sits closer to the ground. Using a battery-powered saw, they can remove the part in two minutes or less. The fast-moving thieves have been known to target public parking areas even in broad daylight in some cities.

In the past year, Mankato police received theft reports involving about 41 catalytic converters. The combined costs for repairs and replacement parts for the victims of the Mankato thefts topped $68,000.

Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.