Jan 20th 2022: The Costa Mesa Police Department has announced they have parked several bait cars around the city in the hope of catching catalytic converter thief’s. The police working undercover hope to put an end to the thefts which have risen in Costa Mesa as well as Orange County in general.
In 2021 there were 318 catalytic converter thefts in Costa Mesa which is a huge increase over the 115 that were stolen in 2020. The police department have put up digital signage telling residents about the thefts as well as the use of bait cars.