University police have reported an ongoing issue with theft of catalytic converters on campus for the past two weeks.
According to a UM Today crime alert, the University Police Department has received four recent reports regarding the theft of catalytic converters.
UPD Chief of Police Tim Potts said these instances are the first thefts of catalytic converters in several years.
Chris Gilbert, a mechanic at Ray Brothers Automotive, said catalytic converters are essential in every vehicle and burn the emissions going through the exhaust so there are not as many pollutants.
“If it is taken off your car, the computer is not going to read right because you have an oxygen sensor in front of it and behind it that reads the fuel mixture going into the exhaust and out of the exhaust of the catalytic converter,” Gilbert said. “If it’s removed, your car will be very loud and it’s going to make your car run funny.”
Gilbert said selling catalytic converters can be an easy source of income.
“Most of the time when you cut one off it’s because it goes bad,” Gilbert said. “Whoever is stealing them is most likely selling them to scrap yards.”
Gilbert said he knows of about 34 catalytic converters that have been stolen throughout Oxford recently and has personally replaced five converters at his mechanic shop.
“You get between $50 and $100 selling them, so let’s just say whoever got them received the $75,” Gilbert said. “That’s $2,550 somebody or group of people have gotten.”
UPD Detective Lt. Jeremy Cook said all of the incident reports they have had occurred in the Luckyday Residential College parking lot.
“Most of the cases the victim did not drive their car for a week and they got in their car and noticed it was driving funny,” Cook said. “All the cars were early model Honda Accords between the year 1999-2002.”
According to Repairpal.com, the average cost for a replacement can cost anywhere between $379 and $940, and labor costs are estimated to be between $88 and $111, while parts are priced between $291 and $829.
UPD officers suggests that those with vehicles on campus should park in well-lit areas and check on their vehicles frequently.
“There are no ways to prevent them from being stolen. Just report to UPD if you see something that looks weird, like someone using a drill saw under a vehicle, and we will investigate anything that looks suspicious,” Cook said.
UPD officers suggest that those with vehicles on campus should park in well-lit areas and check on their vehicles frequently in attempt to stop theft of catalytic converters. (Photo by: Kamera Griffin)
The recent thefts have concerned Ole Miss community members, who all want the campus to be environmentally friendly. When a catalytic converter is taken from a vehicle, serious harm can be done to the environment.
James Cizdziel, associate professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, said catalytic converters contain platinum, palladium and rhodium, which are rare metals with rising values.
“Few cars without catalytic converters will cause no environmental impact,” Cizdziel said. “If thefts continue and the number of cars without emission control rises, there could be increased levels of ozone and smog in large cities.”
Cizdziel said that this in turn could affect the quality of life, especially with people who are currently suffering from asthma.
Curtis Hill, a freshman English major, said he feels his car is pretty safe because he parks in the silver lot, which is gated. He said he feels security improvements could prevent more thefts.
“I don’t know how many cameras are out there, so maybe putting cameras at different positions of the lots so you know if anything suspicious is going on,” Hill said. “I (also) think a better solution would be for UPD to just patrol around different areas in different lots maybe four times a night just to check up.”
Potts said that not every lot has cameras, but most do.
“We try to identify locations every year where we invest $100,000 for cameras,” Potts said.
UPD currently has no leads on a suspect, but law enforcement officers are frequently patrolling throughout the parking lots.
