Yelm Police issue warning after string of catalytic converters are stolen

Yelm Police say they’ve responded to several calls in recent days involving the theft of catalytic converters.

“Thieves are stealing this particular item due to the value of the metals used to make them,” stated a crime alert posted Thursday on the department’s Facebook page. “The converters — which contain small amounts of valuable metals like platinum, palladium, or rhodium — command a good price as scrap metal, with some converters selling for as much as several hundred dollars. In addition, most converters can be removed within a few minutes.”

Police recommend that people be aware and report anyone or anything suspicious.

“Most of the thefts have occurred in parking lots in the middle of the day,” the crime alert stated. “Across our country, nearly 5,000 converters are stolen every year. Don’t hesitate to call 911 and help us put an end to this problem.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Yelm Police issue warning after string of catalytic converters are stolen."