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Report regarding approval and support of Assembly Bill 2407 (O'Donnell), Assembly Bill 1740 (Maratsuchi), Assembly Bill 2682 (Gray), Senate Bill 986 (Umberg), and Senate Bill 1087 (Gonzalez) to combat catalytic converter thefts (Tamiko Huey, Management Analyst II)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
[It is recommended that City Council support AB 2407 (O'Donnell) and AB 1740 (Maratsuchi), Assembly Bill 2682 (Gray), Senate Bill 986 (Umberg), and Senate Bill 1087 (Gonzalez) to help discourage, prevent, and prosecute the growing crime of catalytic converter theft in California and South San Francisco.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Consistent with statewide and nationwide data, the City of South San Francisco Police Department has seen a dramatic increase in catalytic converter thefts. Between 2020 to 2021, South San Francisco experienced a 250 percent increase in catalytic converter thefts. Between January 2021 and June 2022, the Police Department has investigated 433 cases. The city is averaging 24.1 thefts or attempted thefts per month.
Catalytic converters are targeted by thieves because they are non-traceable, can be scrapped for a quick profit in less than ten minutes, and contain precious metals such as palladium, rhodium, and platinum. Metal theft becomes a broad scale issue when the price of metals themselves increase, which is usually coupled with hard economic times. Catalytic converters can be sold to metal dealers, scrap yards, and recyclers for hundreds of dollars. Today, prices of these precious metals have increased dramatically due to the short supply prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent supply chain issues. Victims of this theft end up paying as much as $3,000 to replace the stolen converter.
In California, existing laws make it extremely difficult for local law enforcement to stop the sale of stolen catalytic converters. These five measures, Assembly Bill 1740, Assembly Bill 2407, Assembly Bill 2682, Senate Bill 986, and Senate ...
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