The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is about to make it harder for catalytic converter thieves to sell their ill-gotten gains.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, sheriff’s office personnel, working in partnership with the North Georgia Technical College Clarkesville Campus, will host a free event at the college to introduce PROJECT CAT I.D.
The free event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the college’s transportation center, located on Tech School Road at the corner of Ga. 197.
Developed in response to the significant number of catalytic converter thefts occurring throughout Georgia, PROJECT CAT I.D. is a theft deterrent measure that will assist law enforcement in identifying a stolen catalytic converter.
Chief Deputy Murray Kogod said the effort is a win/win for participants, because it discourages would-be thieves from stealing a marked converter. But if that fails, the markings will make matching the device to a victim’s vehicle easier and the crime easier to prove.
“Our property crimes investigators have come up with this project called CAT I.D. and basically what it does is it enables service companies and the providers of automotive repair, things like that, to actually mark catalytic converters with a special paint and with a special identification number being part of the VIN,” Kogod said. “What that does is, we can now tie that catalytic converter to a specific vehicle, where in the past we couldn't, which makes the arrest and prosecution much easier.”
The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office will supply local businesses that perform automotive related service with the tools needed to paint and etch the last 8 digits of the vehicles VIN into the catalytic converter(s). This will be a service provided free of charge when a customer comes in for an oil change or other service appointment. The business partner will complete the painting and etching, record the vehicle owner information, and upload the information into a database maintained by the sheriff’s office.
