Student Tribune
Important Notice from MCC Public Safety
There has been an influx in catalytic converter thefts occurring all across
the country. These types of larcenies (auto stripping) are crimes of
opportunity, and usually occur in broad daylight. We have had three
incidents on our campus already – two at the Brighton Campus and one at
the Downtown Campus.
The M.O. of the suspect is to locate a target vehicle (usually an SUV or
pick-up truck) that is easy to crawl under and is often parked in a parking lot
adjacent to an empty parking space. Suspects look for large parking lots
with SUVs and trucks with very little pedestrian traffic. The suspect
will park next to the target vehicle so to shield themselves from being
noticed, will crawl under the target vehicle and within a minute, cut away the
catalytic converter and flee the scene. In many cases the suspects are bold
enough to simply pull up behind a target vehicle and proceed to steal the
converter.
This type of theft is low-risk/easy money for suspects, and therefore it is
becoming very common in the Rochester area. Suspects are not deterred by
populated areas because they can be in and out within seconds.
Best practice for us is to always be on the lookout for suspicious activity
near vehicles, and notify Public Safety immediately (292-2911 or X2911 on an
internal phone) if you suspect anything out of the ordinary.
Sprague, Raymond
Interim Assistant Chief of Public Safety
04/21/2022