sat at home with a case of COVID-19 in May, that’s exactly what happened. She was sitting outside when a car with an unrecognizable man and woman pulled into her townhome community’s parking lot. The woman got out and wandered around the property before noticing Bossert. She got back in the car and it drove away, and Bossert went back inside her home. “My partner was sleeping, and all of sudden I hear this terrible noise. At fi rst I thought it was maintenance, but mainte- nance had occurred on the property days before. Then I thought it was a neighbor making noise, but my dog looked disturbed,” she recalls. Remembering the mysterious woman and thinking about a co-worker’s recent experience with catalytic converter theft, she walked outside to investigate and found the source of the noise: her partner’s Honda Element, with two male legs stretching out from underneath. “I don’t remember leaving my patio, but I guess I have a fi ghting response. I ran up to him and kicked him, because he didn’t hear me screaming at him. He rolled out from under the car with a handheld Sawzall in his hand, and I shoved him and started yelling at him to get away from my car,” she recalls. At that point, several of Bossert’s neigh- bors were outside. The man ran to his car, now driven by the woman Bossert had encountered earlier, and the two sped away. Police told her the license plate on the klepto-couple’s getaway car was stolen and registered to another vehicle. “Talking with neighbors afterward, I learned that my adrenaline was up and I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Bossert says, but she wasn’t thrilled with the police response, either. “They requested that I go online to fi ll out the police report instead of making it in person. They didn’t even want to come out for it because it was considered over at that point, which was frustrating,” she adds. “It was kind of traumatic, what just happened, and then not to be checked in by law enforcement. As a resident, I feel like police are not going to do anything, so now I have a taser, and we’ve invested in a home video camera.” Theft of property valued at less than $2,000 is a misdemeanor in Colorado, Kess- ler points out, and he argues that recent de- velopments have hampered police response throughout the state. “You’ve got a lot of things going on right now, with all of the social justice reform, the struggle in staffi ng, high motor vehicle theft and other crimes. The thing is, catalytic converter and auto theft itself go hand in hand, but even if you put the value at a couple thousand dollars, the part itself is not all that expensive,” he says. “Obviously police are limited. We can’t be everywhere at once.” Meanwhile, catalytic converter thieves will be, until the resale market disappears or precious metal prices crash. Proper policies at scrapyards could help tamp down on the crime, law enforcement argues. The DPD reached out to metal-recycling businesses last year, Schepman notes, “but there aren’t too many within the city of Denver,” and police are “relying on industry rules that are laid out.” Most authorities believe the majority of catalytic converter metal recycling is done on the black market, while converter resales are hard to track. Westword reached out to nine metal scrapyards in the Denver area, but none responded to inquiries. A tenth, Atlas Metal, a metal recycler in Aurora and Denver, noted only that it purchases converters from commercial accounts. “I see ads all the time claiming to buy junk catalytic converters. It says in the ad, ‘Don’t sell us stolen CATS,’ but where else are they selling them? The recycling yards have too much restrictions to do it, I think,” Cave says. “But I have people calling me all the time, claiming to be travelers or businessmen, looking for catalytic converter cores. It’s not slowing down a bit.” VIN etching is the state’s most frequent line of defense for now — go to lockdowny- ourcar.org for a calendar of free etching events taking place in Colorado — but even McKinley, whose organization has helped etch 4,000 catalytic converters for free, calls it “a drop in the bucket.” But at least it’s something. “If someone working at a scrapyard saw a catalytic con- verter that was spray-painted in bright colors or had VIN numbers etched on it, my guess is they probably wouldn’t try to sell it,” Schep- man maintains. Beyond the etching, law enforcement offi cers recommend keeping cars parked in garages if possible, as well as watching for suspicious activity in the neighborhood. And if you can afford it, make sure catalytic con- verter theft is part of your insurance coverage. “Be aware of the insurance you have,” Walker advises. “With the spikes we’re seeing in auto theft, check your policy to make sure you carry comprehensive coverage. During economic hardship, it may be tempting to cut corners on insurance.” Converter theft was part of my $100-per- month insurance coverage, and I fi led a police report shortly after mine was stolen. Even if you have to do it online, as Bossert and I did, it’s worth the time, as police reports are required for insurance claims on stolen items. My insurance provider eventually handled my claim, but not before a good amount of time had passed. First I was told the earliest I could sched- ule an inspection was six weeks down the road at a partnered mechanic, with no option for an independent mechanic. After some back-and-forth over the phone (don’t do this online, millennials and Gen Zers), I was able to get a solo inspector to come look at my car. The claims inspector was in and out in less than fi fteen minutes before writing me a check that paid for the repair and then some. I was even given a ridiculous red Dodge Chal- lenger by Enterprise Rent-A-Car to use for a couple of days. And when I tried to return it to the Broadway location, I learned that a fatal drive-by shooting had occurred, right where I was standing, less than 24 hours before. During this pandemic, people have lost their cars, months of savings and so much more as Colorado reckons with a rise in crime. My life, although inconvenienced, could be much worse. I could be driving a G-Wagon. Email [email protected]. 15 Call to schedule a tour (303) 507-3554 FILLING UP FAST FOR 2022 EVENTS! Large Event Center Breathtaking views of the Rockies and Downtown Weddings, Corporate and Holiday Events westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD JUNE 30-JULY 6, 2022
