The dramatic rise in the theft of car catalytic converters has been revealed by detailed figures obtained by the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member.
Despite many crimes falling during lockdown the theft of car catalytic converters has soared across London between 2019 and 2020, with increases in 27 of the 32 London Boroughs covered by the Metropolitan Police Service.
The London borough with the highest number of thefts was Barnet seeing 1114 thefts in 2020, a rate of more than three thefts a day.
Commenting on these figures Caroline Pidgeon said:
“These are startling figures. A crime that hardly existed in 2017 is now prevalent in every part of London, leading to serious financial loss for thousands of people and a rise in car premiums for everyone.
“Although there is some useful crime prevention advice for motorists the big picture is that not enough measures are being taken to tackle the gangs behind this crime. The number of people who have been arrested for these offences in the last four years is pitifully low.
“When I questioned the Mayor of London on the rise recently, his response was to say that he had written to the Society of Motor Manufacturers back in 2019. Since then these offences have soared to even higher levels. Real and comprehensive action to tackle this soaring crime is long overdue and desperately needed.”
