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The converters, also known as CATs, can fetch anywhere between $50 and $1,400, according to police departments and insurance agencies across the country

Ten states enacted new legislation in 2021, including laws in Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas that require scrap metal buyers of used converters to maintain records of purchases, including proof of ownership.

In the tiny town of Lawrenceville, Virginia, a van owned by Poplar Mount Baptist Church was knocked out of commission for weeks after thieves cut the catalytic converter out of its exhaust system. Several months later, across town, a catalytic converter was ripped from a van owned by First Baptist Church. Similar crimes followed, targeting…

Thefts of the exhaust emission control devices have jumped over the past two years as prices for the precious metals they contain have skyrocketed.

States across the country are taking steps to try to deter the thefts of catalytic converters.