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Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

justice.gov

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Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#321

Post by socialismisok »

kybernetyk wrote: post #317
catiopatio wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is. The police can — clearly, as per this article — do their job without yet another intrusive privacy overreach being put permanently on the books.

It's funny how you have to argue on HACKER news against government overreach and you get downvoted. It's actually not funny. It's sad. I remember a time the hacker community was very weary of the government. Today they seem to defend it no matter what.

Hackers in the sense that HN uses the term have never been a monoculture. "Government" isn't a monolithic concept either. Some is good but some is not.

Plenty of hackers, for instance, supported the creation of the EPA. I know plenty of permaculture hackers and mycologist hackers who very much want the government regulating pollutants and safety.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#322

Post by alar44 »

rydifyrhffh wrote: post #54
User23 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be that back when local cops cared about property crime this was standard operating procedure. When I was a kid if you etched a serial number into your bike frame and parts and registered it with the local PD you were practically assured you’d get your bike back when it inevitably showed up at a pawn shop or similar.

I'm curious where you live that they don't still care tbh. In my experience police do what they're allowed that will be effective. But if you have a DA who refuses to prosecute people or you pass local laws that make doing their job in a manner that gets results impossible then they tend not to waste their time.

Real life isn't a detective show. Cops don't task resources with hunting down your stolen TV. At best, you may get it back when someone tries to sell it to a pawn shop.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#323

Post by Haga »

Test0129 wrote: post #4

This is happening more and more frequently in my locale. Several of my friends and many of my neighbors have had their catalytic converters stolen. It's good to see something is done. Let's hope this steamrolls into a nationwide manhunt for these criminals. They should also consider targeting and auditing shops that buy used car parts. Making it extremely difficult to fence these things will be practical and useful b…

No post body was provided.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#324

Post by kybernetyk »

socialismisok wrote: post #321
kybernetyk wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny how you have to argue on HACKER news against government overreach and you get downvoted. It's actually not funny. It's sad. I remember a time the hacker community was very weary of the government. Today they seem to defend it no matter what.

Hackers in the sense that HN uses the term have never been a monoculture. "Government" isn't a monolithic concept either. Some is good but some is not. Plenty of hackers, for instance, supported the creation of the EPA. I know plenty of permaculture hackers and mycologist hackers who very much want the government regulating pollutants and safety.

Heh, I guess when you abuse a term all the time it eventually becomes meaningless.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#326

Post by system2 »

stevev wrote: post #226

They captured 22 individuals in the stings across the US. Probably only a few thousands more to go.

Some of them are in their 20s. I can't imagine myself being part of a nationwide theft ring in my 20s. What a wild life.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#327

Post by Teever »

mattzito wrote: post #171
catiopatio wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How well did that prevent 9/11? The decrease in domestic terrorism is due to societal changes and better old-fashioned policing of home-grown extremist groups. We didn’t somehow make it impossible (or even difficult) to improvise large explosives.

Well, those folks had to spend a few years planning, take flying lessons, dry run everything a few times, and then pull off the most complicated and coordinated terrorist attack in US history. The actual bomb planning for the Oklahoma City bombing was less than a year and involved two people. So, seems like the bar was raised quite a bit.

Do you think that the bar was raised a bit or that the 9/11 terrorists set their sights a little higher?

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#328

Post by system2 »

megablast wrote: post #258
squintychino wrote: post #177

They need to attack the root of the problem. Go after the recycling centers that buy these. Fine them into submission. Watch the market dry up.

The root of this problem, like the root of most problems like pollution, increased deaths, noise, suburbs is cars.

True. I haven't heard a Tesla's catalytic converter got stolen yet.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#329

Post by aidenn0 »

doodlebugging wrote: post #294
1970-01-01 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any scrapyard will offer you cash for it, just call. OEM are worth much more, hence the rise of cat thefts.

I wonder what the difference between the OEM converter from 1992 and the replacement from 2007 would be. The OEM converter is easily twice as large but the replacement is certified 50 state compliant and CARB approved from a manufacturer in California. I guess the technology improved or the ceramic composition changed.

Ford bet big on palladium in the 90s, so any Ford cat from an engine introduced before ~2002 is likely to have a relatively large amount of palladium in it. Some of their larger trucks have nearly 1/2 an oz, which was worth about $40 in 1992 and nearly $700 today (there was a palladium shortage during COVID and palladium briefly was over $3k/oz).

My Ford was federally licensed rather than CARB, so I'm required to replace it with an OEM converter. There is no ETA on when one will be available.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#330

Post by tptacek »

autoexec wrote: post #282
tptacek wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much Sudafed did you buy?! The daily purchase limits are pretty high. Did you max out your monthly limit in your hometown before traveling? Really, if we're this wound up about the situation, the answer is simple: just make Sudafed require a prescription, like a zillion other medications. The problem with Sudafed is extremely straightforward: it is a very trivial chemical reaction away from being methamphetamine.

Only one box each time, what specific number of pills were included I couldn't say, but these were normal packages and not some costco-esque barrel full of bulk drugs. Some states have made the requirement for prescriptions, but it hasn't done them much good https://www.huffpost.com/entry/meth-laws-oregons-prescriptio... I'm no fan of meth labs, but this just seems like a bad solution being made worse by poor impleme…

It's also the dumbest, worst kind of meth: the kind you make in a 2-liter bottle using camping gas as a solvent, carefully burping it every 5 minutes so the ammonia gas buildup doesn't rupture the bottle. It could be rational to regulate Sudafed even if lab meth was widely available on the street; the lab meth isn't setting huge building fires.
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