Catalytic Converters Stolen Throughout Duluth, Similar to Last Year’s Trends

Catalytic converters continue to be stolen throughout Duluth, which is on par with last year.

DULUTH, Minn. – Catalytic converters continue to be stolen throughout Duluth, which is on par with last year.

Steven is a Duluth resident, and he went to his car on Sunday night to change parking from one side of the street to the other. However, he discovered that someone had taken his catalytic converter. He says that he needs $2,300 to get it replaced.

“I came out, I started up my car and I went, oh something must have went wrong with my exhaust system or my muffler system because the thing was making lots of noise,” said Steven Robinson, a Duluth resident. “And I happened to step back and look underneath the car and saw a couple of bolts laying on the ground and I thought, that’s strange.”

Duluth police say that there is a similar amount of converters that have been stolen when comparing January to the end of March this year and last year. In 2020, there were 42 thefts while in 2021, there have been 44 thefts so far.

“We just want people to know that it is an issue,” said Ben Nordskog, the auto theft investigator for the Duluth Police Department. “It is something that we want to address as well. So in the event that you see anything out of the ordinary, you see somebody in a parking lot, underneath a vehicle especially with a tool, like a Sawzall is a common tool that you use to cut it off, we would ask that the general public like always to just call if you see something out of the ordinary.”

Officials say that one of the options people can have is to place a sticker with an identifying number on the converter.

Officials also say that during winter months, stolen vehicles are also a problem with people leaving their keys in their car and letting their vehicles warm up unattended. They say to lock up your vehicle and make sure to park your car in a well-lit area.