This is where we need our legislators to step in and make it illegal to resell catalytic converters. I know lots of guys who go fishing and come back to the boat ramp to have them missing from their trucks. It is a big deal and getting old.
No but lots of people are loosing a lot of money replacing their cats when the desperate people steal them with no fear of consequences. If you punish the businesses who are buying them and take away the market it will curb this issue. As long as businesses continue to be allowed to buy stolen property it will continue. Go after the buyers and it will solve the problem.
My understanding is most are sold to junk yards who then do what ever they want. Take away the market for them. If they have no one to sell them to, they will stop stealing them.
We already have laws punishing businesses as well as the thieves... I'm simply saying holding out hope that more laws will help anything is wishful thinking. This problem isn't going to go away until we address our problems with poverty...
At this point it is not illegal for the business to buy the catalytic converters. They don't ask where it is from, so until they make it illegal for the business to buy used cats it will continue to happen. It is $500 plus for a person to replace their cat.
Yep, you can't solve poverty without addressing drugs/mental health, and you can't address drugs/mental health without addressing poverty.
You can't prevent them from selling them any more than you could prevent people from selling weed or booze. It has valuable metals. There will always be a buyer. Trying to control specific items is just pissing in the wind. The police need to enforce the laws we have. But you don't stop crime with police. You stop crime by educating kids and lifting people out of poverty.
If they can't get money for them, they can't sell them. If the mechanics/junk yards aren't allowed to buy them there is no market. Hence no more cats being stolen. Will they find something else to steal sure. That is where your fixing poverty comes in.
Mechanics are professionals and yeah they know what a stolen piece looks like. Yes they can deny knowledge to a point but it's a pretty easy bust if they are buying stolen goods. Same dude selling a catalytic converter 3 four times a week all used? C'mon. Plausible Deniability only goes so far. Even more so when someone gets caught and rolls on them and then they the guy in as a set up. Your deniability goes out the window.
Yes they can. Metal scrap is highly monitored now. But i agree. Stop it before they get to that point.
Major problem in a lot of petty crime nowadays is that they are caught and released right away. There's no fear of repercussions.
