California is a hotspot for catalytic converter theft. Will new laws make a difference?

A beam of light glints beneath Isaac Agyeman’s 2009 Prius, parked outside his Temecula home early one August morning.  One person is under the hatchback, another by its side and a third is stationed nearby. After a few mechanical roars and a quick scoot out from under the car, all three hurry away.

It was the second time Agyeman’s catalytic converter — which scrubs a car’s emissions to make them less toxic and contains precious metals —  had been stolen. This time, he caught the whole thing on camera.