The reason Winnipeg police say catalytic converter thefts are dropping

Catalytic converters, which regulate vehicle exhaust emissions, contain precious metals like platinum, rhodium and palladium. (RCMP)

The Winnipeg Police Service is reporting a steep drop in catalytic converter thefts.

In a news release on Monday, police shared statistics showing that at the start of the year there were hundreds of catalytic converter thefts each month, but by August the number had significantly dropped. These numbers include:

• January – 186 thefts;
• February – 219 thefts;
• March – 280 thefts;
• April – 353 thefts;
• May – 283 thefts;
• June – 122 thefts;
• July – 78 thefts; and
• August – 31 thefts.

According to police, in order to curb the theft of catalytic converters, they conducted a four-month investigation called ‘Project Precious.’

As a result of this investigation, officers arrested two people, associated with a Springfield scrap metal dealer, in June 2022, for buying and selling stolen catalytic converters. Then in July, police arrested four more people with stolen catalytic converters during a traffic stop.

Winnipeg police note that the Manitoba government also introduced a bill that requires scrap metal dealers to follow strict rules when buying and selling certain metal products. This means anyone trying to sell these items needs to provide government ID at the time of the sale, and the metal dealers need to keep accurate and up-to-date records of the transactions.

Police note they have the authority to conduct random checks at metal dealers and enforce these new requirements.

Along with the work by police and the government, Crime Stoppers launched an initiative called ‘Save Your Cat’ through funding from criminal property forfeiture.

With this initiative, drivers can bring their vehicles to auto service centres and have their catalytic converters engraved with the vehicle serial number, and painted with high-visibility paint. Police note that these engraved catalytic converters won’t be accepted at scrap metal dealers under the province’s scrap metal act.

According to Winnipeg police, in 2021 vehicle accessories, including catalytic converters, replaced liquor as the most stolen property. There were more than 1,700 reported thefts last year.