Why catalytic-converter theft has soared in America

ONE SIGN of a crime’s prevalence is when even police officers fall victim to it. So it goes with the spike in the theft of catalytic converters, a component attached to a vehicle’s underbelly that helps process and control fuel emissions. In September thieves sawed-off catalytic converters from four trucks and vans owned by the San Francisco Police Department, which were parked outside a “special operations” bureau. Earlier this year, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy was shot dead in Houston when he tried to stop thieves stealing his truck’s catalytic converter.