Your car may not be safe in front of your house in NJ

🔴 Several catalytic converter thefts in one Ocean County town have been reported

🔴 It's part of an epidemic police have been dealing with for years

🔴 No arrests have been made

LACEY — The catalytic converter theft epidemic continues in New Jersey.

On Monday, this township's police department took several reports of catalytic converter thefts from vehicles that were parked either in the driveway or on the street in front of their houses.

Police said nine thefts took place during the overnight hours between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. All of the reported thefts took place in the northern section of the Barnegat Pines. Police did not say from which type of vehicles the converters were swiped.

Anyone with information related to these thefts is being asked to contact Lacey Township police. Residents are also being reminded to check their cars and make sure they are locked.

Law enforcement around the state has been dealing with catalytic converter thefts for the past several years. It only takes minutes for professional thieves to steal the key part of the car’s exhaust system in search of precious metals such as rhodium, palladium, and platinum, which in turn can be sold.

In May 2023, there were 29 catalytic converter thefts in 10 days in South Brunswick.

One catalytic converter theft was caught on video outside a Chick-fil-A in Evesham in July 2023 and in December, Gloucester County police were looking for several suspects that targeted a neighborhood where at least 10 converters had been swiped from cars within two months.

To combat the recent rise in converter thefts, Union County launched a comprehensive catalytic converter etching program in January. The program, which was held at six locations throughout the county, aimed to deter theft and aid in the recovery of stolen converters.

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