Herts Police Help Fight Vehicle "Cat" Thefts

2 August 2014, 06:00

Police say they'll be helping in the fight against thefts of catalytic converters of cars and vans in Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire Police say they're working with a local garage to offer drivers of diesel cars and light commercial vehicles free catalytic converter marking.

The theft of catalytic converters has continued to be an issue in the county, due to the high price of metal in recent years. Marking the converters makes it much easier for the police to trace where it came from, and therefore it’s much less appealing to would be thieves.

STS Tyre Pros at their Hemel Hempstead depots are promoting a free catalytic converter marking service for owners of diesel cars and light goods vans up to 4,500 kgs gross vehicle weight, from Monday, August 11th.

The depots are at Unit 2 McDonald Way, off Maylands Avenue, HP2 7EB (or at 271 London Road, HP3 9AA).

Owners of vehicles who wish to use this free marking service are asked to call the garage on 01442 243612 or 01442 244092, open seven days a week, to arrange an appointment, and the marking takes a maximum 10 minutes for each vehicle.

Inspector Paul Lawrence of the Herts Police Crime Reduction Unit said: "The theft of catalytic converters has been a recurring problem over the last couple of years, particularly from diesel vans as they are easier to access on high clearance vehicles. Thieves target the units for the precious metals they contain.

Marking the converters makes them much less appealing to thieves as they can easily be traced back to where they were stolen from. Scrap metal dealers are now required to record who they buy their scrap from, meaning we have a good chance of catching the person that stole the unit if it is marked."