Pop quiz - what do U.S. cities Caledonia, WI, Wellesley, MA, Wichita, KS and Mineola, NY all have in common? Their residents have unfortunately been victims of catalytic converter thefts in the last 30 days. Automobile catalytic converter theft, which became popular in the U.S. in the mid-2000s as the global price of precious metals rose to unprecedented levels, is still occurring at alarmingly high rates. In fact, according to the FBI's 2012 Uniform Crime Report, there were over 406,000 reported motor vehicle accessory thefts in the U.S., and an increasing percentage of those thefts are of catalytic converters.

The federal government has failed to launch any meaningful legislation to combat catalytic converter theft and only a handful of states have made it harder for thieves to redeem stolen converters or have increased the penalty for getting caught trying to sell a stolen converter. The automobile manufacturers have been deathly silent on the topic, as replacing the stolen converters is big business for their accessory and parts departments. Given this backdrop, how can consumers and businesses protect the vehicles they rely on everyday from converter thieves?

If you ask a police officer how to combat converter theft he or she will tell you to park your car in a garage or well lit area and to call the police if you see anyone suspicious by your vehicle. This advice is reactive and in some cases, impossible, because not everyone has control of where they park their car throughout the day. The odds of keeping your converter safe will increase dramatically if you use a proactive approach to protecting your converter, and the best way to do so is with a converter lock. Don’t just take it from me, the U.S. Department of Justice endorses converter locks too in their ‘Problem Oriented Guide for Police No. 58 - Theft of Scrap Metal’, available at COPS Office: Grants and Resources for Community Policing.

There have been a handful of converter locks in the U.S. market in the last few years, not all of them have worked well and many have folded. Many mechanics have devised their own unique, one-off solutions that work for their customers. But since 2009 there has been only one brand of converter lock that has been sold nationally and that has a 100% success rate at preventing converter theft, that brand is The Catlock. The Catlock is the only converter lock that was created by a converter theft victim, for converter theft victims. It’s 3 different models (1.0, 2.0 & 3.0) offer consumers and businesses a variety of price points and levels of protection to fit their needs. The Catlock has helped protect thousands of converters over the years, so why not let it protect yours? Look for The Catlock in national auto part and brake and muffler shops mid-2014 and in the meantime for more information or to place your order, visit The Catlock® | Catalytic Converter Lock today.

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The Catlock Installation Video - YouTube

 

I found a catalytic converter theft deterrent system available at http://catstrap.net that acts as both a steel barrier AND wireless alarm system to prevent your converter from being stolen. I will not be another victim of converter theft.