Raleigh car shop partners with police, AAA to raise awareness on catalytic converter thefts

A Raleigh car repair shop teamed up with the Raleigh Police Department and AAA hosted an event on Saturday to make it harder to steal catalytic converters.

A catalytic converter is a control device for exhaust emissions in cars. The converters contain valuable metals like platinum and palladium.

Scott Stillwell, director of Car Care Maintenance & Repair, said it can take “minutes” for someone to steal them from your car.

“It’s simple,” he said. “Someone can slide under a vehicle or jack up the vehicle, take some tools, and have some of these converters off within three or five minutes.”

In recent years, authorities have reported an increase in thefts.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, drivers in the United States experienced more than 64,000 catalytic converter thefts just in 2022.

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