I don’t know enough about cars to know if this is a thing, and I fell asleep in math class when we learned percentages, but I do know an eye-popping number when I see one:
1,206.06%.
Whoa!!
That is the number, according to BeenVerified, of the percentage change in thefts 2019 vs 2022 of catalytic converter thefts in SOUTH CAROLINA (!!!)
And, do you know where that ranks us among the 50 states in thefts per 1,000 automobiles in 2022?
46th.
Now, people stealing stuff is nothing new. The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s help in catching a low-life(s): “We are seeking information to identify the subjects in this video in reference to car break-ins occuring in the area of Ridgeview Acres (in the area of Chestnut Ridge Road, Laurens) during the early morning hours of June 5th. If you have information and/or survelliance video, contact investigator Brown at 864-681-4510, visit our website www.laurenscountysheriff.com/tips or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers 864-68-CRIME.”
This doesn’t appear to be a catalytic converter theft - just a run of the mill somebody taking stuff that doesn’t belong to them. HEY, get a job and you, too, can have nice things!
Again, I am car-ignorant but from what I’ve seen you have to go under the car to cut out the catalytic converter (the low-lifes in the video just open the doors) and this often is done in broad daylight, in parking lots. And it’s being done at such an alarming rate that the provider of this information says:
“Catalytic converter thefts have been plaguing the country since the start of the pandemic as thieves took advantage of unsuspecting car owners at never before seen levels. New data from BeenVerified, a public data company, shows that since 2019, catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed 1206.06% in South Carolina in three years. The study, Catalytic Converter Thefts Hit New Record in 2022—But Some States See Declines includes state by state crime data from January 2019 through 2022. The study estimates that the theft of catalytic converters quadrupled across the U.S. in 2021, a 353% increase from all reported thefts of catalytic converters in 2020, a previous record year for these thefts, and is again up another 20% this year when comparing the first four months of the year.”
I don’t offer an answer here, just the normal, old man “people are crazy” - the thieves AND people who buy ths “hot” metal.
Vic MacDonald is Editor of The Clinton Chronicle. In June, 2025, he will observe his 50th year in community journalism. Reach him at 864-833-1900.
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