Just a couple of years ago, it was not unusual for the Stonington Police Department to field an overnight call reporting multiple catalytic converters sawed out of vehicles parked in town.

“That could be at a dealership or a hotel, places where a lot of vehicles were parked,” Deputy Chief Todd Olson said on Wednesday. “It got to the point we were adding extra patrol officers to deal with the problem.”

But those theft calls have become far less common in the past year, a situation law enforcement leaders attribute to a new law aimed at making it harder for thieves to profit from the precious metals embedded in the stolen components, as well as the overall drop in value of those materials.

Olson said his department has been called to investigate only a couple of catalytic converter thefts so far this year, including one on Tuesday, the same day state police were investigating two similar crimes in Old Lyme.

“It still happens here and there, but nothing like a couple of years ago,” he said.

Old Lyme Resident State Trooper Matthew Weber said state police are investigating the recent thefts of catalytic converters from two vehicles, one off Katherine Road and another on Swan Avenue.

Weber said the thefts, reported on Tuesday, are suspected to have been carried out during the overnight hours in the residential neighborhoods.

“It’s the first time in a long time we’ve had those kinds of thefts,” Weber said, adding the cases are still under investigation.

Fewer thefts in wake of new law

Olsen and other eastern Connecticut police officials said a law that took effect in July 2022 seems to dovetail with the drop in theft reports.

That law makes it illegal for dealers to accept a detached catalytic converter without detailed paperwork; prohibits the sale of more than one converter a day by an individual to a scrap dealer; and makes checks the only form of payment for such sales.

Thieves can pocket between $50 to $300 by reselling the stolen converters to scrap yards, according the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which also tracks thefts.

Catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed in past years, with insurance claims filed by Connecticut victims climbing from 81 in 2020 to 1,183 in 2022, according to the NICB. Those figures dropped in 2023 with 348 claims filed for the first nine months of that year.

The thefts reached a fever pitch locally two years ago with at least two brazen daylight thefts.

One mid-afternoon in March 2022, a group of ski-masked individuals jacked up a car parked in a Waterford shopping plaza, but were interrupted before cutting away the converter, police said. Days later on April 3, the successful daytime theft of a catalytic converter was carried out in a busy Lisbon supermarket parking lot.

Safety concerns prompted police to warn witnesses not to intervene in such cases.

In East Lyme, catalytic converter theft calls have dwindled and seem to involve smaller crews engaging in a more pinpointed rip-offs , Chief Michael Finkelstein said.

“We’re seeing those single-hit incidents at places like car lots, and not so much multiple cars in a neighborhood,” he said. “And these thieves are so fast they’re like a pit-crew.”

Both Finkelstein and Olson described the new law as helpful, though not perfect.

“Before (the law), we could go over to a local scrap metal dealer, get their paperwork and start making a case,” Finkelstein said. “Now, the thieves are heading farther out to sell the stuff.”

Olson said it’s likely thieves are now peddling the stolen converters out of state.

“So we do have to expand our investigations and involve other agencies more frequently,” he said.

In addition to the new law, the prices of platinum, palladium and, to a lesser extent, rhodium ― the elements in catalytic converters that help reduce vehicle emissions ― have fallen since 2021, at least partly due to consumer interest in electric vehicles, which do not require the devices.

For example, an ounce of palladium marketed for $3,000 at the end of 2022. That same amount sells now for between $700 and $1,200. Demand for palladium and platinum is expected to continue its downward trend into 2025, according to industry analysts.

j.penney@theday.com