Nothing is safe these days…
Crime is so bad in Oakland that a Dodge Charger which crashed and flipped onto its side had its catalytic converters stolen just minutes later. Instead of people rushing to make sure the people inside the Mopar were fine, then calling the police and waiting for a tow truck, witnesses made sure to help themselves to whatever was valuable, whether it was bolted down or not.
Watch a guy resurrect a barn find 1968 Dodge Charger here.
We know this won’t shock anyone who’s been paying attention to the crime wave that’s been sweeping many parts of the nation, especially cities like Oakland. Something about a lack of legal consequences, coupled with rolling back the funding of police departments because they’re labeled as the enemy, has resulted in criminals feeling like they can get away with anything they want.
This is why car theft is so rampant. While it’s decreased in some areas, many others are seeing the trend heating up even more in 2023. One big different is what kind of policing and prosecution is applied to offenders. Let’s just say Oakland isn’t exactly socking it to thieves these days.
Of course, catalytic converter theft has also been skyrocketing in the same areas. It’s a quick, relatively easy thing to do. And normally you would have to jack up a Dodge Charger to steal the cats, something that’s risky and requires more time. So when someone who’s constantly looking for things to swipe sees a golden opportunity like this, they go for it.
To be fair, the Mopar muscle car is likely stolen and maybe in part that’s why nobody was feverishly helping the people who were inside it get out. Everyone knows they’re either the thieves or they bought it off the thieves so they’re part of the neighborhood crime problem. But none of that makes the situation any less ridiculous or sad.
