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Crikey-Shocking car theft stats



pastafarian

Well-known member
Sep 4, 2011
11,902
Sussex
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24811143



Thefts of catalytic converters from motor vehicles have more than doubled over the past three years, a BBC investigation has found.
Almost 25,000 thefts were reported to police forces across the UK between 2010 and the first half of this year.
Thieves are ripping out the devices because they contain precious metals such as platinum and palladium.
Motorists can be left with repair bills of thousands of pounds.
Catalytic converters reduce poisonous gases from the vehicle's exhaust system.
Information obtained from 40 UK police forces revealed thefts UK had more than doubled between 2010 and 2012.
Some parts of the country saw a significant rise - in Bedfordshire and South Yorkshire thefts increased more than tenfold.
They more than tripled across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Leicestershire during the same period.
Continue reading the main story

HOW CAN YOU PREVENT THEFT?

Catalytic converters can be uniquely marked in acid with a serial number
Motorists are advised to keep their cars in garages or park in well-lit areas
Most converters are bolted on - but they can be welded, which makes them harder to remove
Fleet owners are advised to obstruct access to high vehicles by parking cars with lower ground clearance round them
CCTV cameras should also be installed and warning notices posted up nearby

Source: AA and Humberside Police

James Goodson, a senior analyst with British Transport Police, says rises in the global price of platinum has fuelled the illegal trade.
He said: "We've seen that in the past such metals such as platinum and palladium are affected by the changes in the market. That would be reflected at scrap metal dealer level by the dealer offering a better price for that material.
"We've identified that when there are increases in the price of these metals and materials then we often see an increase in levels of theft reported to us."
Police say vans and 4x4 vehicles, which are easy to crawl underneath, are particularly at risk.
Det Supt Alison Evans, national coordinator for the National Metal Theft Task Force, said: "We have people involved in organised crime [here], because we have had depots and fleets being hit, and that suggests a level of pre-planning that isn't involved in your spontaneous type of offending.
"We know from our intelligence from the arrests we've made that most of the people we have arrested are UK residents. There is an element of Eastern European involvement but a lot of these people are people who trawl around the country in order to attack particular locations that have been identified as vulnerable," she added.
Det Supt Evans went on: "Catalytic converters can be processed through some scrap metal dealers, but they need to have a particular piece of equipment to be able to do that. "
"But one of the emerging problems that we have identified is the direct export - so them being exported in containers to emerging economies where they are either reused or then they can be broken down there."

Legislation came into force on 1 October banning cash payments for scrap metal, which was aimed at making it easier to trace those people selling stolen metal.
Catalytic converters Catalytic converters contain valuable metals, which are often exported to Europe
Jonathan Elvidge's fleet of delivery vans was targeted by thieves just before Christmas 2011.
Fifteen vehicles were stripped of their catalytic converters when his depot was raided one night.
Mr Elvidge said: "We're all about gifts and gadgets, we're all about Christmas, so it was a massively busy time for us."
He said the thief managed to saw through and remove all 15 catalytic converters within 45 minutes.
Mr Elvidge said: "The cost to the business was significant. I mean keeping the vehicles on hire and bringing in new vehicles would have cost us £15,000 to £20,000.
"But the real cost is the lost revenue in the stores, which we estimate will be in excess of £100,000. So the real risk to the business, was going out of business.
"We employ 600 people at that time of the year and all those jobs could have been at risk because we couldn't get the stock out to the stores."
Catalytic converters reduce harmful emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.
They contain a ceramic honeycombed core coated with metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium.
The metals act as catalysts and convert the harmful gases into water vapour and less harmful emissions.
A Department of Transport spokesman said it was not illegal to drive without a catalytic converter but you could be stopped by the police and prosecuted for breaking the law on harmful emissions. Most vehicles will also fail an MoT test without a catalytic converter.
 


TheJasperCo

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2012
4,590
Exeter
No surprise, what with the price of trace elements like platinum, rhodium and palladium sky-rocketing. Problem is it's clearly difficult to try and prtect your chassis from getting pulled apart, making it a "perfect crime" of sorts.
 


Bedsex

not my real name
Jan 29, 2009
1,855
Flitwick
No surprise, what with the price of trace elements like platinum, rhodium and palladium sky-rocketing. Problem is it's clearly difficult to try and prtect your chassis from getting pulled apart, making it a "perfect crime" of sorts.

Except the price of platinum and rhodium has dropped considerably since 2010. Plus it is very difficult to refine the metals out of the substrate. I would guess that the reason for the increase is that people have heard there is platinum etc in catalytic converters and thought it would be easy to get at.
 








upthealbion1970

bring on the trumpets....
NSC Patreon
Jan 22, 2009
8,861
Woodingdean
Except the price of platinum and rhodium has dropped considerably since 2010. Plus it is very difficult to refine the metals out of the substrate. I would guess that the reason for the increase is that people have heard there is platinum etc in catalytic converters and thought it would be easy to get at.

You can get upwards of £100 per cat from companies who extract the precious metal from them
 


TheJasperCo

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2012
4,590
Exeter
Except the price of platinum and rhodium has dropped considerably since 2010. Plus it is very difficult to refine the metals out of the substrate. I would guess that the reason for the increase is that people have heard there is platinum etc in catalytic converters and thought it would be easy to get at.

Which is interesting because I understand that global reserves of such elements are severely depleted, and demand has never been higher what with electronics and robotics developments in the 21st century.
 



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