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Hochul made the announcement on Monday, Oct. 17 on Long Island as she also signed legislation requiring vehicle dismantlers to maintain records of the converters they receive.
"New York State has experienced a real rise in property crimes, and what is driving that is thefts of catalytic converters," Hochul said. "We want the criminals to know the gig's up.
"We're coming. We have the resources, the technology, and the will to stop these crimes from happening."
Over the last couple of years, Hochul said the theft of converters has increased by over 200 percent in some parts of the state.
Nassau County has over 1,549 thefts this year compared to 445 last year, a 248 percent increase.
Suffolk County, there have been 819 cases up from 289 a year ago, a 183 percent increase, she added.
And the numbers are even more alarming in New York City. They've actually quadrupled in the city compared to a year ago, Hochul said.
What makes catalytic converters so coveted is their rare valuable materials like palladium, rhodium, and platinum. Those are all the component parts of these converters.
And as the price of these rare metals has increased, so has catalytic converter theft.
Another reason is they are so easy to remove, it only takes about two minutes, Hochul said.
And they have a street value alone of about $200 to $500.
But replacing a converter can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000, officials said,
Hochul said the state police and the Department of Motor Vehicles, using existing resources, will work with local police departments in areas with high numbers of thefts.
"I'm also instructing the DMV and State Police to use legislation to trace stolen converters all the way back to those that may be already at illegal dismantlers," she said. " So, they're going to go visit the shops, talk to them, find out if they can help work on tracing these catalytic converters as well."
The legislation requires dismantlers and scrap processors to maintain detailed records of the converters they buy. And every 60 days, businesses will have to report the number of catalytic converters received or face fines.
Car dealers will also have to have etching kits to provide a traceable serial number onto catalytic converters.
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