Thousands worth of tools, catalytic converters stolen from school maintenance vehicles

A New Brunswick school district says it faces thousands of dollars in repairs and tool replacement bills after its maintenance vehicles were broken into last week.

Twelve vehicles in the English-speaking East School District were broken into on Wednesday and Thursday while parked near a Moncton school.

Stephanie Patterson, the district’s communications director, said three catalytic converters were cut off, eight more were partially cut off, and a variety of tools in the vehicles were stolen.

“It’s disappointing, it’s daunting,” Patterson said.

“It will cost a lot of money to replace and repair all of the things that have been made, which is unfortunate because it all comes from the district’s budget, which obviously could be used for other things during the school year.”

Three catalytic converters, part of a vehicle’s exhaust system like the one shown, have been stolen and several others have been damaged. (CBC)

The tools are used for repairs in schools in the district. Patterson said they try to do as much maintenance as possible over the summer when students are out of class.

An inventory is still in progress to determine what is missing and the cost of replacing it.

The initial damage to the vehicles parked next to Bernice MacNaughton High School on St. George Boulevard was discovered by district officials Thursday. Other vehicles in this area were damaged later in the day.

Patterson said the vehicles were locked. Windows were smashed and doors broken. The hinges of one vehicle were worn, she said.

RCMP investigates

The district reported the damage and thefts to the RCMP.

Codiac Regional RCMP Sgt. Christopher MacKenzie-Plante said the investigation was continuing and no arrests had been made by Tuesday afternoon.

This is the recent surge in catalytic converter thefts reported across the country.

The exhaust system component converts harmful pollutants into less toxic ones before they are emitted. They contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium.

“The New Brunswick RCMP is aware of the increase in catalytic converter thefts in the Moncton area,” said Mackenzie-Plante.

RCMP received “dozens” of reports of thefts of copper wire and catalytic converters in and around Moncton between July 9-15, the Mounties said in a press release last month.

In one case on July 9, police said she was called after two large light poles on the Trans-Canada near River Glade were stripped of their copper lines, rendering them inoperable.

The school district is still evaluating the damage and the missing to determine how much it will cost to repair and replace the stolen property. (Candace Scott / Submitted)

Patterson said the vehicles were parked in a maintenance yard next to the school. There are security cameras in the area and the district’s IT staff are reviewing the footage to aid the investigation, she said.

Patterson said catalytic converters were previously stolen from school buses, but staff cannot recall any theft of this magnitude.

Aubrey Kirkpatrick, the district director of finance and administration, said in a Facebook post over the weekend that tools included Milwaukee power tools, cables, tool bags with wrenches, tool boxes and copper plumbing tools.

Patterson said the vehicles had been relocated and the district will be reviewing the location to see what else can be done to protect their vehicles.

She encouraged anyone with information to contact the RCMP and the school district.