Stop Catalytic
Converter Theft

About This Website

We aim to educate car owners about the increased theft of catalytic converters from late-model vehicles.

Our goal is to help you bring this issue to the attention of your elected officials to effect change.

Some Background

Emissions control systems use something called a catalytic converter which contains palladium, an extremely valuable metal.
As such, the converter has become a target for thieves, and much more so in recent months. It takes about three minutes for someone to jack up your car and cut off the part.
Even under lock and key, in lit parking lots, behind fences, under video surveillance, thieves are stealing these parts.

What can I do?

Do you live in Multnomah County, Oregon and want to make a difference?

If you have your email program (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, Yahoo!, etc.) set up to handle email addresses and mailto: links, you can click this button to launch a pre-written and addressed email:

Don't have your email program set up to handle links? That's OK. We've made a Google doc that you can copy and paste from and draft email these folks directly to express your concerns:

Want to take it to the next level?

While we've collected the info for Portland, Mult. Co., and justice officials in Oregon, we recommend that you also contact your state and federal elected officials to express your concerns.
In order to best reach your specific elected officials, we recommend resist.bot, a nonprofit organization that helps connect constituents with their elected officials. You can connect with resist.bot on Facebook, iMessage, even by SMS. Check it out here:
The chat bot will turn your messages into a letter, and deliver it to the elected officials you choose: from your state legislator all the way up to the President.
P.S. You can also use the service to register to vote and to check your voter registration status. PLEASE REGISTER AND PLEASE VOTE.

Some other steps you can take to protect yourself and your vehicle

  • Park inside a garage or in a well lit area. Choose a busy street, not a side street.
  • Install a catalytic converter theft prevention device like one specifically built for Prius, the Cat-Shield
  • If you see this happening to your car, don't potentially get yourself into a confrontation, just call 911 and don't alert the thief that you see them.
  • If this happens to you, or you hear about it happening in your neighborhood, file a police report online (Portland Police Bureau). If law enforcement can't track it, there will never be anything done about it.
  • We are researching wi-fi battery-powered inclinometers that will potentially be able to notify you when your car gets jacked up, since this does not cause the Prius factory alarm to go off.
  • Spread the word to every Prius owner you know (feel free to send a link to this website or resist.bot)
This website is organized by a concerned citizen in Portland, Oregon. Please send hate-mail or accolades to [email protected].