Council to beef up fines in response to catalytic converter thefts in Calgary
Global News
The Calgary Police Service said there were 3,174 reported catalytic converter thefts between January and November last year, up from 1,560 thefts in 2021.
Calgary city councillors voted unanimously Tuesday to boost fines and explore other options to curb catalytic converter thefts across the city.
The motion from Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong, and co-signed by several other councillors, asks city administration to use the city’s business licence bylaw to regulate the possession of an unattached catalytic converter.
Demong said the motion includes establishing heftier fines to act as a deterrent.
“The fine needs to go up to at least $1,000-plus in order to encourage an actual courtroom appearance, as opposed to just paying the fine in an envelope and walking away.”
According to data from the Calgary Police Service, there were 3,174 reported catalytic converter thefts between January and November last year. That’s up from 1,560 thefts in 2021, while there were only 300 reported in 2020 and 205 in 2019.
The increase is also being attributed to the rising price of precious metals that catalytic converters are made out of: platinum, palladium and rhodium.
The City of Calgary said replacing a catalytic converter can cost between $1,300 and $3,400.
“The whole purpose of this is to come up with some solutions,” Demong said.