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CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE NO. 21-13 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 115 TO CHAPTER 1 OF DIVISION 14 OF TITLE 4 OF THE IRVINE MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS PROHIBITING THE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF CATALYTIC CONVERTERS IN THE CITY WHEREAS, the citizens of Irvine have been plagued with hundreds of catalytic converter thefts from automobiles over the past several years; and WHEREAS, catalytic converter thefts are the number one property crime in Irvine in terms of increase over last year, including a 541 % increase from 2020 to 2021, bringing the total to over 500 since the beginning of 2020; and WHEREAS, there is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Irvine to define and punish catalytic converter thefts absent an identifiable victim; and WHEREAS, there is currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Irvine to define and punish the recycling or sale of unlawfully obtained catalytic converters, thus incentivizing criminal enterprise of catalytic converter thefts; and WHEREAS, there are currently no City, State, or Federal legislation applicable within the City of Irvine requiring individuals to provide proof to law enforcement as to how they obtained catalytic converters, thus limiting law enforcement's ability to protect the public by preventing catalytic converter thefts and preventing law enforcement from seizing suspected stolen catalytic converters when no victim present; and WHEREAS, catalytic converter thefts are on the rise because individuals are incentivized to commit catalytic converter thefts for multiple reasons including, but not limited to: (1) the ease and undetectable nature of committing the thefts in a matter of seconds using common tools such as a reciprocating saw, (2) the ability to recycle catalytic converters at scrap metal yards for high dollar returns ranging from $200 to $1,200 per catalytic converter, and (3) loopholes in legislation protecting criminals from prosecution unless a victim can be identified; and WHEREAS, finding a victim of these crimes is nearly impossible due to the undetectable nature of the catalytic converter thefts and catalytic converters being untraceable to link back to a victim (no identifying markers on the catalytic converters); and WHEREAS, due to lack of legislation defining and prosecuting these thefts, 99% of all catalytic converter theft cases in the City of Irvine have gone unsolved, which is fundamentally unacceptable for the citizens of the City of Irvine; and 1 CC ORDINANCE NO. 21-13 ATTACHMENT