Moreno Valley resident Daryl Terrell is waging a statewide campaign to get local governments to pass tougher local laws when it comes to the theft of catalytic converters, air pollution control devices required on new cars and valued by thieves for the precious metals these devices contain. Santa Barbara County could be next.
Under state law, it’s a crime for anyone to be in possession of nine or more catalytic converters without proof of ownership or without being a licensed recycler. Supervisor Steve Lavagnino introduced language this week that could make it illegal in Santa Barbara County to possess just one converter without proof of ownership. As Terrell has demanded while making his case in Riverside, San Joaquin, and Orange counties among many others, why is it okay to steal eight?
While catalytic converter theft is no longer quite the raging epidemic it was a few years ago, it remains an expensive and automotive-ly debilitating nuisance for its victims.
Lavagnino is proposing that first-time offenders be fined $1,000, and second timers $3,000. State law, he argued, “allows an individual to legally possess up to eight detached catalytic converters, which serves no lawful purpose.” Law enforcement lacks the tools to catch thieves in the act, he argued, so it makes sense to reduce the number of detached converters required to trigger the fine. The matter is scheduled for its first public hearing September 22.
