Brown Deer police warn of increase in catalytic converter thefts

Over the past three weeks the Brown Deer Police Department and several other area police departments have been investigating numerous theft incidents involving catalytic converters stolen from vehicles. The crimes have all occurred during daylight hours and may have been witnessed by unsuspecting residents.

The suspects are either using cordless power saws or a hack saw to cut the catalytic converter from the exhaust system. It is believed the suspects are able to remove the catalytic converters very quickly. The suspects are selling the converters to scrap yards as the units on older model vehicles contain small amounts of platinum.

In Brown Deer, the thefts have been reported in recent weeks in the 8900 to 9100 block of Park Plaza Court and the 9200 to 9600 blocks of North Green Bay Road

The Brown Deer Police Department is requesting that residents contact police if they observe suspicious behavior, such as individuals crawling under or working under vehicles in area parking lots or driveways.