Police looking to end catalytic converter thefts

Bloomfield Police Chief George Ricci said so himself in a July 11 interview at headquarters: The number of recent catalytic converter thefts in Bloomfield was “a crazy amount, three or four a night.”

He continued:

“The number of thefts is high in Essex County and the state,” he said. “But I did something different.”

What he did was divide the township into seven policing zones with neighborhoods having a high incidence of these thefts circled in red.

“I call it zone integrity,” Ricci said. “I assign specific cars to a zone. The officers stay there until relieved. This gives them a stake of ownership. This way, they get to know the residents, but also it drastically reduces police response time.”

Effective criminals, Ricci said, are always on the lookout. Cat and mouse, a good police officer avoids patrolling habits a crook could anticipate. Supplementing BPD patrol cars are unmarked vehicles, too.

“Ever since we created zone integrity, we haven’t had the amount of thefts we had,” Ricci said. “We’ve had a 61% decrease since my initiative. But you can’t stop it all. So many people were doing it.”

He provided stats: Jan. 1, 2023, to March 31, 29 catalytic converter thefts; April 1 to July 13, 17.

A catalytic converter is an emission-control device attached to an exhaust pipe leading to a car’s muffler. It reduces emission toxins by using a filter made of platinum, rhodium and palladium. These metals are valuable to metal dealers. Consequently, purloined converters are profitable. According to Ricci, a converter will pocket a thief $400 and can be removed in 20 seconds using a “sawzall” which is an electric saw that cuts through most materials.

“So many people were doing it,” he said of the thefts. “Our patrol pulled up to one when it was occurring, but a patrol cannot pursue just for a thief because of safety concerns. Unless it’s a motor vehicle thief, it has to be a high-degree crime.”

Nonetheless, Ricci said as long as he is police chief, there will be zone integrity and the assigned officer will be held accountable. All BPD patrol cars have GPS so that headquarters knows if an officer is traveling or parked. Although the oversight sounds harsh, Ricci said it is not. As a police officer developing through the ranks, he was held accountable, too.

“I credit our officers for doing a great job,” he said. “Our arrest rates in all crimes are higher. We’ve increased our summons over 100% since I was here.”
Ricci officially became police chief April 1. For the previous seven years, initiated by legal duress, the BPD was overlooked by a public safety director, Samuel DeMaio, formerly the city of Newark police chief.

At Ricci’s swearing-in, April 6 at Oak View Elementary School, DeMaio said having a police chief again was the goal of the administration when he was hired.
Regarding the increase of summons, Ricci said he concentrates on traffic, speeding, parking issues, day-to-day complaints, and the morale of officers. Better training, new equipment and, in no small CAPTIONpart, a better employment contract, have helped restore morale.

But Ricci added he believed there was a more pressing problem than catalytic converter theft.

“I think the bigger issue is juvenile crime,” he said. “Kids are stealing cars and breaking into homes. And when they’re arrested, for the most part, they’re released.”

He said the juveniles, when arrested, may already have 10 to 15 previous charges. Some, as young as 10, go from car to car “handle surfing” to see if a door is unlocked for a quick snatch.

“The jackpot is the key fob to steal the car,” Ricci said.

He advised residents to “harden the targets” by locking car doors and keeping no valuables in the vehicle. A majority of the juvenile problems encountered by BPD officers, he said, are not caused by Bloomfield children.

“Where are the parents when a child isn’t home by 3 or 4 in the morning?” he asked. “We need the help of parents.”

  Bloomfield Police Department, catalytic converter