Bellaire Not Faced With As Many Catalytic Converter Thefts As West U

Bellaire police are not investigating as many stolen catalytic converter incidents as West U, who has had six reported thefts throughout December.

Several residents reported to West U police on Dec. 31 that their catalytic converters had been stolen from their vehicles.

Police received six reports in December involving stolen catalytic converters, four of which were reported on Dec. 31.

The catalytic converters were stolen from vehicles that were parked on the street in the 2700 block of Robinhood, the 2900 block of Rice, the 5800 block of Annapolis and the 2600 block of Robinhood, West U Lt. Charlie Deily said.

Police received a report on Dec. 17 that a catalytic converter had been stolen from a vehicle in the 6000 block of Wakeforest.

Another catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle in the 3700 block of Plumb on Dec. 21.

All of the catalytic converters were stolen from 1996-2002 Toyota 4Runners, Deily said.

The Bellaire Police Department received one report on Dec. 30 of a stolen catalytic converter from a vehicle in the 500 block of Third St.

Catalytic converters are used to reduce vehicle emissions, and are mounted on the underside of all gasoline-fueled vehicles. They are located on the exhaust system between the engine and the muffler. Thieves are stealing the converters because they contain expensive metal parts that can be sold.

Police are encouraging homeowners to park their vehicles in the garage and don’t recommend parking in the street.

If anyone sees or hears any suspicious activity, call the police; do not investigate, Deily said.