Las Vegas company fighting catalytic converter thieves with manufactured covers

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) -Latest numbers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department show catalytic converter thieves are not slowing down.

LVMPD said there were 425 reported catalytic converter thefts from January-April 2021. There were 784 reported thefts during the same time period in 2022.

Custom Motorsports in Las Vegas has been watching the rise in thefts and decided to do something about it. The company has been using technology to custom fit cars and trucks with a steel plate that covers the converters.

“Thieves are looking for a quick in and out. They want to just be there for two or three minutes and be gone. So, once they crawl underneath your vehicle, they’re going to see this. They’re going to move on to the next guy who doesn’t have it,” said Mason DeCosta with Custom Motorsports.

Catalytic converters help clean a vehicle’s exhaust. Some of the precious metals used in the cleaning process can be worth more than gold when melted down. Thieves can damage a car’s exhaust when they cut out converters. Repairs, including a new converter, can run several thousand dollars for people who don’t have insurance.

Along with converter covers, the company is also researching plates to cover gas tanks. Thieves are drilling holes into gas tanks to steal gas, also costing thousands of dollars in repairs.

LVMPD said of the 425 reported thefts from January-April 2021, 26 were closed by arrest. Of the 784 reported thefts during the same time in 2022, 37 were closed by arrest.

LVMPD said there were 1934 reported catalytic converter thefts for all of 2021, with 98 closed by arrest.

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