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MIDVALE — Despite legislation recently passed by Utah lawmakers aimed at helping curb the problem, police say catalytic converter thefts continue to be a huge issue around the state.

"The challenge that we had once that legislation was written is we still don't have a victim so we can't prosecute," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said Thursday. "It's really hard to charge someone when you don't have a victim."

In an effort to help police and prosecutors catch and convict more catalytic converter thieves, as well as hopefully deter others from committing the same crime, Unified police on Thursday announced a new partnership with Jiffy Lube.

The oil change company is offering to engrave a vehicle's VIN number onto its catalytic converter and put a heat-resistant fluorescent paint stripe over it, for free. Police hope the paint will deter potential thieves from cutting the catalytic converter from a vehicle by acting as a warning that the car's owner can now be easily tracked down, using the same national database that stores VIN numbers. But if a VIN number is filed off a catalytic converter, law enforcers hope it will tip off pawn shops and metal recycling companies that the car part is likely stolen.

Catalytic converters are used to help reduce the toxicity of a vehicle's emissions. A car will still run without one, but will sound exceptionally loud. Converters contain several precious metals that can be sold at recycling yards for quick cash. And because of the recent values of some of those precious metals, thieves can potentially make hundreds of dollars.

With the right tools, police say a catalytic converter can be cut out from the bottom of a vehicle and taken in less than two minutes.

In 2021, the Utah Attorney General's Office reported that converter thefts in Utah had risen nearly 600% since 2018, while skyrocketing 6,000% nationally during that same time. In 2019 there were approximately 100 catalytic converter thefts reported in Utah, the Attorney General's office reported. That number jumped to 650 during 2020 and then doubled again the next year.

Earlier his year, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that requires the second-hand sale of catalytic converters to be closely documented, including specific documentation from a person trying to sell the car.

But Rivera said while the legislation helped, it also had loopholes. Most notably, it didn't account for trying to identify the victim.

"That has been the biggest challenge," the sheriff said. "There's just no victim to identify, all the catalytic converters look the same."

Jiffy Lube says its new service will be available at all 79 of its stores across Utah by next week. No appointment is necessary. And the process of getting a VIN engraved takes five minutes.

Rivera said vehicle owners can also try to protect themselves by parking in well-lit areas at night, and if residents see or hear something suspicious — such as a person underneath a vehicle that doesn't belong to that person, or a sawing or drilling noise — call police. Police have responded to catalytic converter thefts everywhere from grocery store parking lots to the Salt Lake International Airport.