PD cracks down on converter theft with surveillance investment

By Marc Monroy

Click here for updates on this story

    TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Temple city officials are stepping up crime prevention efforts with a $1 million investment in surveillance technology to combat catalytic converter thefts driven by the high value of precious metals.

While catalytic converter thefts may be on the decline in Temple, city officials say they’re not letting their guard down.

“What seems to be a driving force in catalytic converter theft?” asked reporter Marc during an interview with a local expert.

“Catalytic converters have a lot of precious metals,” said Kip Genzl, owner of Kip Auto Shop.

Genzl explained that the valuable metals inside these devices — including platinum, palladium, and rhodium — make them highly desirable to thieves. The resale value of these materials can push the price of a single converter into the thousands of dollars, especially when sold to junkyards.

“It has to do with the very expensive precious metals,” Genzl added.

“It’s very expensive… several thousand dollars have to come from a dealer because these ones at an auto part store are only a couple hundred dollars and they work fine, but it won’t keep your check engine light out,” he said.

To address the issue, the Temple City Council recently approved a $1 million proposal presented by Temple Police Department crime analyst Mike Trehern.

“When a crime does occur, it’ll help us get better investigative leads as well,” Trehern said.

The funding will go toward expanding the city’s surveillance infrastructure, including the installation of additional Flock and Axon license plate-reading cameras. These systems can identify vehicles in real time and assist investigators in tracking down suspects.

“Now we can invest in systems that can help solve and prevent more crimes,” Trehern said.

Police say the technology is already paying off.

“It’s really helped us drive down numbers for not just catalytic converter theft, but for motor vehicle theft as well,” Trehern said.

With new systems in place and continued community vigilance, city leaders are optimistic Temple can stay ahead of the trend and keep residents safe.

Here’s some stats:

There were 5 Catalytic Converter thefts reported from Jan-June 2024. There have been 2 Catalytic Converter thefts reported so far from Jan-June 2025. There were 6 Catalytic Converter thefts reported for all of 2024.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.