GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — A Green Bay non-profit is looking for solutions after several catalytic converters were stolen from their fleet vehicles. ASPIRO has had five catalytic converters stolen since the fall.
ASPIRO President Lincoln Burr says it started in November.
“We lost one in the back of the building here. We got that one replaced. People came back or maybe they’re different people, probably a month or two later, stole a different one. The next day they stole the one that had just been replaced,” Burr said.
The folks at ASPIRO moved their fleet of vehicles to a different location in hopes of stopping the catalytic converter thefts, but it didn’t help.
“It’s secure, you can’t see it, it’s locked, we have video surveillance, and they cut the fence a couple weeks ago and went in there and stole two more,” Burr said.
Now, the organization is out about 7500 dollars between replacing the catalytic converters and upgrading security.
ASPIRO also added Cat Cages to some of their vehicles to stop the thefts.
ASPIRO relies on its vehicle fleet to transport people.
“We’ve got about 90 people going into the community, working in group-supported employment sites everyday. And obviously this impacts whether or not we can transport them. It isn’t a situation where we can just go get this thing replaced,” Burr said.
B & B Metals Industrial Account Manager Paul Brodtke says the metals inside the catalytic converters are what makes them valuable.
“Rhodium and platinum, which get a lot of money out on the market. So your converters especially if from your trucks and bigger vehicles like that, have more of these elements in them, which causes a higher value,” Brodtke said,
Brodtke says a thief can steal a catalytic converter in under five minutes.
“Be vigilant, report things if you see them, obviously these are happening in the dark of night but in very public places,” Brodtke said.
A state bill was signed into law in March looking to crack down on catalytic converter thefts.
It designates a catalytic converter as a proprietary article, which would make them easier to track.
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