Your car or truck could be a target for bold, brazen thieves. Most vehicles feature a part that helps limit harmful emissions and toxins.

WSBT told you on Tuesday night in Part one of our Special Report that precious metals in that catalytic converter could be scrapped for hundreds of dollars.

This is a growing crime.

Workers at Jones Petrie and Rafinski in Downtown South Bend thought bright lights and multiple cameras would be enough to deter crime. They would soon see for themselves it wasn’t.

“He parked right next to our van and acted like he worked here and owned the place, so anyone driving by wouldn’t suspect a thing,” said Ed Kowalczyk, Architect, Jones Petrie and Rafinski.

And in just minutes the suspected thief, and the company truck’s catalytic converter were both gone.

“Our third co-worker, Buddy, came out to start the van and it sounded like it had no exhaust on it,” said Kowalczyk.

That sound is something that mechanics at Zolman Tire have gotten all too familiar with.

“So, they got in here and sliced this one off there and right back here, downside of this one, we have to replace this one as well, because of where they cut it,” said Trevor Garland, Zolman Tire.

In South Bend alone, from January 1st of 2020 to March 2023, there were more than 650 converter thefts.

WSBT filed a public records request and spent weeks analyzing all of the data.

We then mapped out where these thefts happened. The blue marker is every incident reported to police.

Thieves targeted some South Bend neighborhoods more often than others.

Based on this data, Here are the Top 5 streets where converter thefts happened most often.

• #5: Ireland Road. The 1200 block appeared most often in our search.
• #4: Irish Hills Drive. The areas between the 3900 and 4200 block were the most frequent hotspots on our list.
• #3: South Michigan Street. The 13, 14 and 1500 blocks were the most active on our list.
• #2: Western Avenue. Both the 1000 and 1900 block are where thefts happened most often.
• #1: South Main Street. Thieves were most active in the 300 block, and 1200 block.

South Bend Police Captain Jason Biggs said converter theft numbers were down last year.

The data WSBT received backs that up. 2022’s numbers were down 29% compared to 2021.

Biggs told WSBT there’s a connection between the frequency of thefts and the prices per ounce for scrapped platinum, palladium and rhodium– the metals inside a catalytic converter.

“Pricing went up, skyrocketed in 2020. We saw an increase in 2020 and 2021, I think we probably saw maybe 500 out of that 600 thefts happen,” said Captain Jason Biggs, South Bend Police Department.

With the metal broken down and harder to track It’s a crime that has been hard for police locally and nationwide to stop.

“I would say it’s a tough crime to solve because one it’s very quick, right. It does not take a thief long,” said Patrick Olsen/Editor in Chief, CARFAX.

With the right tools, a thief could remove a converter in as little as 66 seconds.

Not only is it a quick crime. It’s a costly one.

“This one is going to hit around $3000,” said Garland.

Trevor showed the great lengths some have gone to protect their converters.

The owner of a truck used cables to make it more difficult to remove.

“There’s a lot there, but if anything, it just slows them down. It doesn’t stop it,” said Garland.

The trucks at Jones Petrie and Rafinski are in the garage at night to avoid another costly repair– a bill that was paid out of pocket, instead of using insurance.

It’s why Ed believes the firm was ‘victimized’ twice.

Now he wants investigators to start targeting the people and businesses who are profiting from thefts.

“To me, you got to ask that company buying these catalytic converters to do a little more digging before you hand over that cash. If they couldn’t get any cash for it, that crime would come to a screeching halt,” said Kowalczyk.