No, no, I’m going to continue to blame the thieves. (The tools do make it much easier, of course.)
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Well, yeah, in a functioning society, you’d be correct.
However, in this area at least, people look the other way because there’s a financial incentive to do so. Like, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a dive bar/pizza place that has a back room full of video poker machines that they pay out from the register.
And having come from heavy industry AND scrap work, there are plenty of times that a yard foreman will say “Nope, you’re not bringing that load of brand new shopping carts in” and then whisper “Come back at midnight and I’ll give you $100 cash and take the carts into the yard for myself.”
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No real punishment for a repeat offender. Must be all those damn liberal politicians & judges in, (checks notes) Omaha, Nebraska!
/s
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Because my KIA mini-SUV had a high clearance, it was particularly vulnerable to these kinds of thefts. I had to buy a lock for my catalytic converter to get them to stop.
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Apparently Mr. Roebuck was the smart one.
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Several friends here in the SF Bay Area had CC’s stolen - notably from Priuses, which seem to have a more robust CC aftermarket than others.
One added a cage after his CC was replaced, and then let someone else use his car through a service. A while afterwards, he discovered that the replacement CC had been re-replaced with a cheaper/poorer quality third-party version, most likely while somebody else was using his car. Quite the tangle to get all the involved parties and insurers to step up and pay for a re-upgrade.
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Anyone ever try to find out who is buying these converters?
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the other thing about meth is the kind of high.
it gives you lots of energy and makes you think you’re clever ( also super paranoid ) - mix that with low or no income, and people start coming up with plenty of “clever” ways to make money during the periods where they absolutely cannot sleep
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This guy is just harvesting a crop. They aren’t worth shit for decorations, trophy’s or food. He steals them because there is a reliable market. Go after the market and the stealing will stop. He’s just a middle man. lock him up and someone else is taking his place but he’s low hanging fruit. The market.may be a lot harder to bust, they probably pay off the right people to look the other way.
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I’m not an expert at all. However, a doctor and a social worker have both told me that my ADHD child is pretty unlikely to find recreational stimulant drugs like meth entertaining. No big high from them.
There’s been a lot of talk about ADHD over-diagnosis and over-prescription; folks in that situation might be vulnerable. But I haven’t done the background reading to know whether the scale of over-diagnosis is shocking or about on par with any other illness.
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We’re getting pretty off topic, but here goes…People don’t generally understand that stimulants don’t work the same on people with ADD or ADHD as they do with people without the disorders. I have an ADD kid, I really doubt my son would find getting super groggy and mopey to be a good time - that’s all meth has to offer him. At least we know he won’t grow up to be a catalytic converter thief. 
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I cannot upvote you enough for this. Adderal != Meth. (More or Less) And in people like me who have executive disfunctions (ADD/HD is most certainly one of those!), our brane chemistry works differently than neurotypicals, and it works very well for making us productive members of society.
Some additional information for the curious:
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Ultimately the scrap metal buyers need to be reined in just as pawn brokers are supposed to be.
I cans see very few scenarios where someone will walk in with multiple converts to be sold.
Not an item most people would legit be in possession of other than on a car.
Area I live in has a "progressive’ government that won’t generally prosecute non-violent “minor” property crimes so this sort of thing has gone through the roof as there’s almost no risk and much reward.
When the government fails to do its job, vigilantism can be expected eventually. And that tends to be worse the the disease as the mob cannot easily be recalled.
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