CAT Crook gets Wacked

[teamzr1]

Law enforcement agencies all over the country are taking action to prevent thefts of catalytic converters, which have been happening more frequently since the start of the pandemic.
In Palmdale, California, a man who was attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a truck was killed when the driver of the truck ran him over.
The incident happened in a parking lot around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

A car with four suspects inside pulled up to the truck and one of them got out to try to take the catalytic converter. However, a woman who was sleeping inside the truck woke up and thought someone was breaking in.
She started the engine and backed up, hitting the thief. The other suspects were arrested, but the thief who was hit passed away in the hospital.

Over 1,200 complaints of CATs stolen this year alone in Southern Ca

 

[SearchShane]

Is this a rising concern in UK aswell?

 

[CaptainK]

I feel sorry for the women driver. Just trying to protect herself and accidentally killed someone. That's gotta tug at one's soul (even though the person killed was lowlife, they were still a human being).

 

[Roscobbc]

Is this a rising concern in UK aswell?

Cat thefts in the UK have been happening for years......its all dependant on the relative scrap value of the precious metals within the cats at the specific time of the theft - and a dodgy scrap metal dealer being prepared to take them. Certain areas seem to have spates of thefts........oddly, heavy iron drain covers are another items often stolen in batches........one might wonder where the value is......its in the extreme weight.

 

[Nassau65]

My local van supplier had about 5 stolen in one hit. Very expensive to replace.

 

[Nassau65]

In the old days it was the lead off the church roofs they nicked. How times have changed.

 

[Oneball]

In the old days it was the lead off the church roofs they nicked. How times have changed.

Lead’s value is quite low at the moment. Copper on the other hand has gone through the roof. We had someone forced off the road and a reel of cable stolen last week.

 

[teamzr1]

They could reduce this crap by making it a law that junkyards and metal scrappers cannot buy used CATS without proof seller owns the vehicle
and have to show valid driver's license and tags

Here these F'rs love trucks, SUV, etc, that stand taller as than do not even have to jack vehicle up to get under and cut exhaust pipes.

Real bitch for those not being able to afford to miss going to work
to start vehicle in morning to hear CATs missing and not cheap for replacements plus the exhaust pipe cuts damage costs

 

[Oneball]

They could reduce this crap by making it a law that junkyards and metal scrappers cannot buy used CATS without proof seller owns the vehicle
and have to show valid driver's license and tags

Exactly the same here. Many industries have been campaigning for years for proper checks and record keeping when selling scrap.

 

[Forrest Gump]

There are methods in place to supposedley combat scrap metal theft. Scrap yards are required by law to take a copy of your driving licence and address ID, as well as recording vehicle details (vehicle you’re driving), every ounce of metal is weighed and logged and payments are only made by electronic transfer to a bank account ie no cash. Everything is logged for auditing, in theory. This has been my experience for years now when I occasionally take in plumbing scrap. But in the criminal world there are obviously still easy ways of “unloading” large volumes of scrap avoiding the above laws. It’s all part of the parallel universe of all sorts of crime happening all around us these days.