Two men have been given ASBOs, one covering the whole of England and the other most of East Anglia, in connection with thefts of catalytic converters.
Essex Police successfully applied for the anti-social behaviour orders against the men as part of an investigation into widespread thefts of converters which are being taken from vehicle exhaust systems and sold for scrap or as replacement parts.
Under the conditions of the three-year ASBOs Richard Parker and Mark Mower have been ordered not to touch or enter any unattended vehicle, enter any business premises or garage forecourts outside of opening hours or be in possession of any tools that might be used for removing the converters.
The ASBO issued to Mower, 20, of Willows Green, Chelmsford, Essex, covers Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire while the order against Parker, 24, from Long Green, Cressing, Essex, covers the whole of England.
Evidence presented by Essex Police to Chelmsford Magistratesโ Court on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 stated that there were "205 outstanding catalytic converter thefts that match Parker and Mowerโs MO that were committed in Central division whilst either Parker or Mower were not in police custody between February 2010 and 29 November 2010.โ
The court was told that Mower and Parker had both been convicted of stealing four catalytic converters from vehicles at Severalls industrial estate, Colchester, in September 2010. At Chelmsford Crown Court on December 2, 2010 Parker was given an eightโmonth jail sentence and Mower was given six months, suspended for two years.
Chief Insp Nick Lee, Braintree district commander, said: "There were two huge spikes in catalytic converter theft in Braintree district and the north of the county last year.
"Stealing a catalytic converter is a very disruptive crime, as it prevents people going to work and doing simple, everyday, things, such as visiting family and friends. It is also very expensive, and often time consuming, to get a catalytic converter replaced.
"Essex Police will use all means at our disposal to eradicate catalytic converter theft, and we hope that the ASBO will provide additional protection and reassurance to car owners across our region.
"I would like to thank the officers and staff who worked tirelessly on this matter, and whose hard work has led to the two ASBOs โ imposed by the court today.โ
The full conditions of the ASBOs were that Parker and Mower must not:
* Touch or enter any unattended vehicle without the express permission of the owner to do so.
* Enter any business premises including garage forecourts outside of the opening hours of that business.
* Be in any industrial type estate between 9pm and 7am (Except Waltham Road Industrial Estate, Boreham, Essex.)
* Be in possession in a public place between 8pm and 6am of any implement which could be used to force entry to a vehicle and/or be used to remove the catalytic converter from a vehicle including (But not limited to.) any spanner, reciprocating saw, disc cutter and blades, hydraulic disc cutter, bolt cropper, wire cutter, monkey wrench, ring spanner, jemmy, Stanley knife or blade, or any grinding or cutting tool.
* In addition, Parker must not be in any vehicle bearing signs that indicate involvement with Highway or Motorway maintenance.
