The LAPD Thinks VIN Etching Will Help Fight Catalytic Converter Thefts

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With catalytic converter thefts still happening, cities and law enforcement officials across the country are running out of ideas on how to stop them. Dealers have also been reporting parts shortages resulting in months-long wait times if you need a replacement. Now, ABC7 reports that the Los Angeles Police Department is offering VIN etching as a way to stop thefts.

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Using an $8,000 Insta Etch machine purchased with a state grant, the LAPD’s Northeast Division is offering the service to residents. Using the machine, the department will etch the vehicle’s VIN onto the converter. To go one further, the department will also etch “Marked by LAPD” onto the converter as a “high visibility deterrent.”

While the VIN etching will help the department track and catalog converters that have been stolen or recovered, the department hopes the LAPD template will make thieves think twice about stealing a car’s catalytic converter. “We use this LAPD placard template with the high-temperature paint and we apply, not only the VIN etch, but we apply this LAPD warning, if you will, to potential thieves who get underneath these cars looking to steal the catalytic converters,” LAPD Capt. Gary Walters told ABC7.

The department is currently holding monthly etching events for interested residents and hopes to get more funding to purchase more of the Insta Etching devices. It’s still to be seen how much of a difference the etchings might make, as thieves have shown that little really stops them, and they seem to get quicker by the day. Every little bit helps, though, especially if you’ve been a victim of catalytic converter theft and wondered, in hindsight, if there was anything you didn’t do that might’ve helped you avoid the whole ordeal.