Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The end of 2020 and the start of 2021 have seen a spike in the number of catalytic converter thefts in the Levittown area.
Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Falls Township, and Middletown Township police have all reported thefts of catalytic converters in recent weeks. Public data from Bristol Borough and Bristol Township show a spike in reports over the past month.
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Catalytic converters are easy to steal if you have the know-how and tools. Once stolen, the exhaust emission control devices are harvested of the small amount of the precious metals like platinum, palladium, or rhodium they contain.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that thieves can fetch anywhere from $20 to $240 for selling the precious metals found in catalytic converters.
“Unfortunately, if you have a criminal that knows what their doing, the converter can be removed in under two minutes,” Bristol Borough police Chief Steve Henry said.
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Victims of catalytic converters often find out there’s a problem when their vehicle starts making a louder than normal sounds from the exhaust.
Nelson Whitney, the chief of the Falls Township Police Department, said catalytic converter thefts rise from time to time.
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Middletown Township Detective Lt. Steve Forman said his town has seen and increase and so has the entire region.
Investigators have impounded a van that might be linked to at least some of the theft, said Forman.
“The driver gave a story that made no sense. A search warrant was executed on the van and tools and other items were there,” Forman said.
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Detectives have taken DNA from some of the thefts and are awaiting lab results.
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