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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

#411

Post by varenc »

Fatnino wrote: post #402
skeeter2020 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever been to a pawn shop? Everything in a legit operation runs through this process. >> The choice is between law enforcement actually doing their job, or invasive and ineffectual laws like this. I'm on guard for overreah all the time, but I'm OK with showing ID to buy alcohol, drive a car, fly on a plane, sell items that should rarely be done in bulk outside of rare conditions, like a bunch of catalytic converters.

Regarding ID for flying... I took a flight today. I had to show my ID once at the start of the security line where they did NOT check my boarding pass. Then at the gate they only wanted to see my boarding pass and not my ID. So basically nobody actually cares about ID when flying. It would have been trivial to buy the ticket in a false name or "borrow" someone else's name without asking. To be clear, this failing is…

They scan your ID and look up your flight in databases based on your name. It’s been happening for a few years now: https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-new-technology/

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#412

Post by bombcar »

hotpotamus wrote: post #52
oblib wrote: post #29

I think taking down the buyers is a the best tool we have right now for this issue. And there are things we could do to make that easier, like putting a serial number on the converter on new cars and replacement parts. Requiring the make, model, and serial number of the car it was removed from, and a web site with a DB that has the ID number of cars they've been stolen from so buyers could check it. Make those who bu…

I wonder if the scheme outlined is more or less stringent than the US's legal ability to track guns. For now, they require serial numbers, but my understanding is that the ATF is disallowed from using computers to track firearms. It would be ironic if catalytic converters ended up with stricter controls than guns.

We don’t have an amendment guaranteeing the right to own insane numbers of catalytic converters, however.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#413

Post by Levitz »

googlryas wrote: post #336
insaneirish wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts... Uh... So, I too found the website and couldn't believe how brazen the business is. I too was surprised about the app. If I downloaded the app because I was so surprised, should my name be given to the police as part of this investigation? That's ridiculous.

Sure, why not? It's not like anyone is saying merely installing the app makes you guilty of anything. It's just a lead. Police chase leads all the time and then abandon when they determine the person isn't involved in the crime.

Because the precedent set is downright scary. Half a step removed from putting anyone who uses torrents on a list.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#414

Post by dsfyu404ed »

bombcar wrote: post #405
bmj wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my state, which has an annual emissions inspection, I have yet to meet a non-dealer mechanic who will not do everything possible to get a vehicle with a bad cat through the inspection process.

CA added new machines to testing that report every test to try to slow this down but every mechanic knows where to find the old machines that can run tests without reporting. They just want to get you on the road and they’re damn good about it (and to be fair much of what they do to pass actually fixes real issues - i went from being a gross polluter to passing when the mechanic replaced the spark plug wire that was…

>CA added new machines to testing that report every test to try to slow this down but every mechanic knows where to find the old machines that can run tests without reporting.

>They just want to get you on the road and they’re damn good about it

Don't worry, the east coast has a solution for this harmonious alignment of business and customer incentives: 'safety' inspections

I took the training back when I lived in MA. The 3rd party that did the training (same contractor that did the computer systems at the time) basically said that the state's priority is clean air and that safety inspections only exist to make the combined safety+emissions license lucrative for a shop to hold and create an incentive not to subvert the interest of the state (by fudging emissions inspections) in favor of the customer (who the mechanic wants a good relationship with). Basically they want doing business via the state (by using your inspection license to make a bunch of work) to be more lucrative than any business you get helping customers dodge the state's interest. The lady running the training even started it by congratulating the class on "this lucrative next step in our careers and businesses" (which is somewhat hilarious because there is very little easy money in automotive repair).

That said, by the time I got out of that industry (mid 00s) they had stopped using tailpipe sniffers (at least in MA) and the economic realities of parts vs labor had more or less made any cheating beyond what the vehicle owner could do themselves irrelevant.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#415

Post by willcipriano »

joenot443 wrote: post #394
vogt wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Sure, why not? Well, for starters, to prevent the police from kicking my door in and shooting me or my pets simply because I was placed on a list of people who downloaded an app. Simply "police chase and abandon leads all the time" is not a strong enough rationale to justify the original suggestion to me.

Is it seriously your working model of police that they’re frequently given lists of people who download apps and instructed to kill them? That’s how you believe policing works? I know the BLM astroturfing had a profound effect on the rest of the internet, but it’s disappointing to see such a skewed version of reality presented here on HN. I just downloaded the app. Bring on the marauders. If they end up blasting me,…

The FBI was recently kicking in journalists doors because they had seen, not stolen or even published, Bidens daughter's diary.

If somebody in power wants to make a name for themselves by starting a "war on cat thieves" or similar you may face the same treatment.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#416

Post by ridgered4 »

kybernetyk wrote: post #320
gpm wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt it. Catalytic converters are stolen because they're valuable and easy to make off with . Car batteries are frickin giant, and if you try and take only a piece you get a giant fire instead of a valuable source of rare metals. They don't seem like a great thing to steal.

A new incentive to steal cars then. Steal car, harvest battery cells worth $20k+, ditch the rest of the car. No silly VIN numbers, etc. Just anonymous 18650 cells (or whatever they use now).

I was under the impression most car thefts were already to chop them up for parts anyway so this doesn't seem like a new incentive.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#417

Post by dsfyu404ed »

fswd wrote: post #70
55555 wrote: post #28

I may be misreading this but the margins look insane. DG Auto paid like 38 million USD for stolen converters, performed a simple extraction process, then sold the precious metals for 550 million USD. Wow.

Wow. I googled DG Auto, and they even have an app for thieves to check prices. https://dgauto.app/ Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...

>Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...

This would be a massive time unless their goal is to find and harass every small time used car parts dealer.

Thieves don't really care about precise prices on cats. They just know that certain year/make/model ranges are what to go after.

The target market of this app is people who sell used car parts for money and want to know the value of the parts. When you are buying a random car for $500-1k with the intent of selling wheels/tires and a couple other big ticket items before scrapping the car for a couple hundred you care a lot about whether the cat is $200 or $1200 for obvious reasons.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#418

Post by brian_cunnie »

User23 wrote: post #211
adrr wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was property crime much higher back then? We’re at historic lows. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

When the cops don’t show up to take a report it doesn’t show up in crime report statistics.

> When the cops don’t show up to take a report

In San Francisco I didn't need the cops to show up to file a report--I filled it out online! It's easier than ever to file a report these days.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#419

Post by brian_cunnie »

magicalist wrote: post #100
rydifyrhffh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If you've never experienced the indifference of a cop taking a property crime report and the complete lack of follow up, just pick a place and you can look at non-violent crime clearance rate. They really don't care.

> They [the police] really don't care

I don't think it's something you can lay at the feet of the SF Police Department. I asked Pete McLaughlin, SFPD (retired), why the police don't go after bike thieves more aggressively.

"Our hands are tied," he said. "They [the thieves] know the most we can do is give them a citation, and they'll be out that afternoon."

California has a history of being lenient with non-violent crime, which is appropriate in some cases, but maybe not in others. Maybe leniency is the wrong approach for some of these bike thieves.

But it's complicated. I heard Jerry Brown (former California Governor) talk about how ~10% of the state budget goes to prisons, and he's not comfortable with such a large amount, and I agree--throwing people in jail is expensive!

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#420

Post by adrr »

Gareth321 wrote: post #375
adrr wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have data backing that up? The data is all FOIA-able like calls to the police department and dispatch data. There's also insurance claim data which requires a police report.

This is backwards. Do you have data to prove that police are responding to all stolen property reports?

How is this backwards? Person made a claim that the government provided data is inaccurate. You can't make those claims unless you provide data.
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