The province is looking for solutions to address catalytic converter thefts, and it’s launching a one-month public survey to do so.
Launching Wednesday (Feb. 14), the online public survey is seeking input from industry, interested parties and the public of five possible actions to address the uptick in thefts and put a stop to it. The province is looking for feedback from metal dealers and recyclers, the automotive industry, law enforcement and members of the public.
The survey includes five possible actions: enhance the reporting of seller information to the police; create a centralized electronic-reporting system so police can access information from across jurisdictions; require commercial groups to report individual purchases; carve identification numbers into the catalytic converters; and remove mobile metal dealer expemtion to place the same reporting requirement on mobile dealers that are in place for established metal dealers and recyclers.
Consultation will be open for one month, closing on March 14.
READ MORE: B.C. makes regulatory changes to curb catalytic converter thefts
Catalytic converters control exhaust emissions, but are frequently targeted by thieves because they’re made up of elements such as palladium, rhodium and platinum. The converters can be removed in minutes.
While there has been a decrease in car-theft rates in B.C., the province says there has been a notable uptick catalytic converter thefts.
“This surge is largely due to the increased value of the metals they contain and presents a significant challenge affecting communities across Canada, while taking a financial toll on people in British Columbia.”
In B.C., 2,931 catalytic converter thefts in the first seven months of 2023 totalled about $8.2 million, according to ICBC. There were 6,143 thefts in 2022.
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In 2022, the province made changes to the Metal Dealers and Recyclers Regulation to include catalytic converters as regulated metal. The changes required metal dealers to report the purchase of catalytic converters to police as one way to address the thefts.