Ed Fritz is the Crime Prevention Supervisor from the Boise Police Department.  This week we chat about the rise in wallet theft and the theft of our cars catalytic converters here in the Treasure Valley.  Here’s what you need to know!

Wallets stolen from purses while victims are shopping or dining

Boise Police have received recent reports from victims who had their wallets stolen from their purses, while grocery shopping or dining.  The victim’s cards were then used at local retailers to purchase prepaid credit cards or high-dollar Apple products.

These crimes are often committed by groups of thieves who will target lone female shoppers who have their purses in the child seat section of the cart.  One person will distract the victim, getting her and her attention away from her cart and purse while another person will quickly remove the wallet from the purse and exit the store.  In a restaurant they will look for purses hanging on the back of the victim’s chair or out of their view on the floor, reaching into the purse and removing the wallet again.

We encourage people to always keep their purses in their view, preferentially over their shoulders and across their bodies.  Do not leave it in a shopping cart while shopping or hanging on your chair while dining.  Even having your purse zipped or snapped shut will make it more difficult to steal your wallet.

Catalytic converters stolen from vehicles

In the past three months, Boise Police has taken around 20 reports of catalytic converters being stolen from vehicles.

A catalytic converter is part of the exhaust system under your car that converts hazardous exhaust into less harmful gasses.  They contain precious metals, like platinum, palladium, and rhodium.  During the pandemic, the prices of these metals have skyrocketed creating an incentive for criminals to steal them.

Certain vehicles, like a Toyota Prius, contain a higher concentration of these metals, making them a higher risk.  Also, models that have higher ground clearance, like trucks and SUVs are also targeted as the catalytic converters are easier to access underneath the vehicle to cut off.  With the right tool, your catalytic converter can be removed in less than two minutes.

Most of the crimes have happened in business parking lots overnight, but there have also been reports from residences and out in public.

Victims typically know something is wrong when they start their vehicle and it sounds very loud like the muffle is missing.

You can do things, like install anti-theft devices to make your converter more difficult to steal.

You can also mark or etch them making them easier to track down if they are stolen.

If you have a place to secure your vehicle overnight, like your garage at home or a well-lit secured parking lot for work vehicles, you can reduce the chances of becoming a victim.

If you have a crime to report, you can call crime stoppers at (208) 343-cops or 343cops.com.  If it is an emergency then dial 9-1-1.