SMPD hosts catalytic converter theft prevention event

San Marcos has seen a significant rise in catalytic converter theft over the past three years. 

San Marcos Police Department Detective Casey Tennant said there have been 301 catalytic converter thefts between Jan. 1, 2019-Feb. 2, 2022. Tennant added that the most significant increase in stolen catalytic converters occurred in 2021. 

“We pulled statistics for the last three years and did an analysis over our property crimes and we determined that [theft of] catalytic converters had risen significantly,” Tennant said. “In that analysis we tried to figure out why, and ultimately we determined that it’s a trend across most regions of the United States.”