CHICAGO (CBS) -- Forget what you know about spelling. Under some cars, the words "Don't Steal" are spelled "EPD."
"My catalytic converter is being autographed by the Evanston Police Department," joked Carol Michelini as she watched officers crawl under her car with spray paint at the area's first catalytic converter marking event held by the Evanston Police Department.
Using a special spray paint made for high heat conditions, Evanston officers tagged the converters so that if a thief gets to them next, "they're going to see a stencil, bright red spray paint," said EPD Public Information Officer Enjoli Daley.
Between carjackings, armed robberies and car part thefts, it's been a tough year for Illinois drivers.
"It's been scary, which is why I thinka lot of people showed up today," said Anne Borish.
EPD says they were inspired by a Minnesota police department where officers in St. Paul held a similar event in April this year.
The stolen catalytic converters are most often sold to scrap yards, often costing theft victims thousands of dollars to replace.
Since the start of the year, Evanston has had more than 160 catalytic converter thefts.
"We had our catalytic converter stolen about two months ago in the middle of the night," said Jack Westwood.
But it's an issue nationwide, for example, in California. As CBS 2's Jim Williams reported, State Farm Insurance said its customers' claims for catalytic converter thefts jumped 175% between June of 2020 and June of 2021. Cities like Miami, Phildelphia, Denver and Pittsburgh report seeing the same trend.
"It's a difficult issue to address," said Daley. "We're trying to mark them. Hopefully they'll see that and move on. If' they took it to a scrap yard and maybe they won't take them since they've been marked."
The hope is that the bright red stencil will be a bright red flag.
"I feel like I've done something," said Michelini. "There are not guarantees, but at least I can say I tried. Now it's up to the universe."
The event in Evanston was free but did require pre-registration. Evanston Police said the event was so popular and sold out so fast they are planning another one to be held sometime in the spring.
Weeks ago Illinois Rep. LaShawn K. Ford prposed a new Illinois law that would require catalytic converter sellers to show their IDs to buyers. The hope is that keeping them both on the hook would curb the trend.
The Illinois General Assembly is expected to address the proposed law at the start of the year.