DENVER (KDVR) — Monday evening, Denver City Council unanimously passed a new bill aimed at preventing catalytic converter theft.
The new measure now requires scrapyards to send specific information to the city about the seller within one day. This includes the seller’s car license plate and photo ID.
Additionally, the dealer needs to record the identification of the catalytic converter itself, along with its serial number, model, brand name and any other identifying marks.
The city said in 2021, catalytic converter thefts increased nearly 900% year to year. Now in 2022, those numbers are even higher. The city says people have reported more than 1,300 stolen catalytic converters.
David Cardella, the CEO of the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealer’s Association, explained how this impacts victims.
“Unfortunately, the people who have been victimized by the crime of catalytic converters are now being victimized again because they can’t get their cars on the road,” he shared, “They can’t get to work. They can’t get to school. They can’t pick up the kids. They can’t go to the grocery store. And it’s created quite a dilemma.”
The Denver Police Department says most of the thefts happen at residential or apartment parking lots, RTD park and ride lots, and Denver International Airport. The most common cars targeted: Honda, Toyota, Ford, Jeep, and Chevrolet.