Four catalytic converters stolen from vehicles in Collingwood over 3 days

Collingwood residents are the latest victims of an Ontario-wide criminal trend. 

Catalytic converters are being stolen off parked vehicles and sold for their valuable scrap metals. 

According to Collingwood and The Blue Mountains OPP, there were four such thefts between July 2 and 5 in Collingwood. 

In one of the incidents, a catalytic converter was stolen from a parked motorhome. The three other occurrences involved vehicles parked at three separate businesses on Sanford Fleming Drive. 

OPP investigations are ongoing for all four incidents.

Catalytic converters are part of a vehicle’s exhaust system. They use precious metals including platinum, palladium, and rhodium, to convert toxic gases from the vehicles internal combustion engine into less harmful carbon dioxide and water vapour. 

According to the OPP, theft of catalytic converters has been on the rise in Ontario in 2021. 

In June, Orillia OPP arrested four suspects and seized 10 stolen catalytic converters and some cocaine as part of its investigation into the car part thefts. 

South Simcoe Police Services sent out a warning to residents in May after reports of catalytic converter thefts in Innisfil. The vehicles were parked in residential driveways. 

Waterloo Regional Police issued a warning earlier this year after 131 reports of stolen catalytic converters in the first two months of 2021. 

Out west, Edmonton Police found 426 stolen catalytic converters in one arrest in 2020. 

To steal the converters, a thief has to get under a vehicle to cut the part out of the exhaust system. 

The OPP suggest parking inside a garage where possible, or in a well lit area. Video surveillance can be helpful, and parking adjacent to curbs or fences can help limit access to the underside of your vehicle.