Police record a 1,700% jump in the number of catalytic converters stolen

The number of catalytic converters stolen from cars in 2019 jumped by as much as 1,700 per cent, figures show.

Crime statistics from 12 police forces reveal that three-quarters experienced marked increases in thefts of the anti-pollution devices in the first ten months of last year.

In Nottinghamshire, police recorded just nine such offences in 2018. But between January and October 2019 there were 163, a rise of 1,711 per cent.

West Yorkshire police saw a rise of 351 per cent, from 39 to 176, while in Warwickshire and West Mercia there was an increase from six in 2018 to 52 in the first ten months of 2019 – a rise of 766 per cent.

Kent, Avon and Somerset, Sussex, Greater Manchester and the Met – which recorded 6,848 ‘cat’ thefts – saw five-fold increases from 2018.

The crimewave is being driven by rising global precious metal prices. Police warn that thieves are particularly targeting catalytic converters on hybrids – with Toyota Prius Mk 2 and Auris models the worst affected, because they contain higher concentrations of platinum, palladium and rhodium, and are generally less corroded as the cars are part electric.

The devices, which cost £1,000, can be removed in as little as a minute – either by unscrewing bolts or using an angle grinder. Thieves sell them to scrap metal dealers or online.

Kent, Avon and Somerset, Sussex, Greater Manchester and the Met – which recorded 6,848 ‘cat’ thefts – saw five-fold increases from 2018

Toyoya said its service network replaced 56 stolen converters in 2018. Last year, more than 4,000 were replaced.

All the figures except those from Kent, which were published separately, were obtained by Freedom of Information requests lodged by the Daily Mail. Only two of the 12 forces – Devon and Cornwall and Northumbria – recorded fewer thefts between January and October last year than in 2018.

In November, AA Insurance said the number of claims for stolen ‘cats’ rose from eight in January to 79 in October.

Hospital car parks have become a hot spot for thefts. In October Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust spoke out following a spate of thefts at Darent Valley Hospital. Police were called after a device was removed from a midwife’s car, the second incident that month and the fifth since April.

In November, a nurse at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire finished her shift and discovered her Toyota Prius had been targeted.

Toyota said it was ‘very concerned’ by the thefts and added that it was increasing the supply of replacement parts and developing security devices for cars.