On Sunday morning, drivers arrived at Fitzgerald Auto Mall in North Bethesda to have their catalytic converters marked.
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) launched “Operation: Etch & Catch” this weekend. There have been 22 catalytic converter thefts so far this year in Montgomery County, according to police.
“In the videos that we’ve seen, the thefts do happen pretty quick, they happen between 30 and 40 seconds and then the criminals, they are in and out,” said Officer Demond Johnson.
Police want to combat these crimes and hope the etching will be a deterrent as well as a recovery method in case theft does occur.
Auto technicians chemically etched an identification number onto each catalytic converter, registered to each car. The information will be retained in a database, making the part traceable in case of theft. If anyone tries to remove the label, the tampering will be evident, explained Technician Eli Mejia.
The number is registered back to the VIN on that vehicle.
“It is a very bad problem, especially in this area, it’s a little bit more common on hybrids which is majority of what we’re doing today,” said Auto Technician Joshua Vermillion.
The etching was free and available to residents by appointment. The police department plans to continue the program. Residents who want to participate can call 240-773-6727 to have an appointment scheduled.
“We lock our doors as a preventative measure, and so this is something I consider something we can do to possibly prevent a theft,” said Silver Spring resident Trang Duong.
“I was really pleased that public consciousness and our leadership are starting to recognize we’ve got an issue here we’re going to have to deal with,” said North Bethesda resident Stephen Corbin.
Police and Fitzgerald Auto Mall partnering for “Operation: Etch & Catch” to mark catalytic converters and make them traceable. @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/pqGH1yTsfC
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) March 26, 2023
