STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Richmond County District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD Patrol Borough Staten Island will host a free catalytic converter theft prevention event Oct. 17 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 625 Father Capodanno Blvd. It is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required.
Vehicle owners who attend can have a unique, traceable serial number etched onto their catalytic converter by NYPD personnel. The service is designed to help identify the part if it is stolen and potentially aid investigators in tracking it.
Participants will also receive free enrollment in the NYPD’s CatGuard database, along with a window sticker designed to alert potential thieves that the vehicle’s catalytic converter has been marked.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 625 Father Capodanno Blvd. Here, an event takes place in 2023. (Staten Island Advance / Luke Peteley)
The office said the etching service cannot guarantee that a vehicle will not be targeted, but the identifying number can help law enforcement investigate thefts and potentially assist metal dealers and scrap yards in identifying people attempting to sell marked catalytic converters.
The event is part of an ongoing effort by the district attorney’s office and the NYPD to address catalytic converter theft, which can leave vehicle owners facing costly repairs and extended periods without their vehicles.
For more information about the event, contact James Clinton at James.Clinton@rcda.nyc.gov.
The Oct. 17 event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 625 Father Capodanno Boulevard. It is free and open to the public, and no RSVP is required.(Courtesy of RCDA)