VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Dozens of drivers found themselves pulling into London Bridge Baptist Church on Saturday to get a little extra protection for their vehicles.

The church on Potters Road in Virginia Beach was the site of the Virginia Beach Police Department’s second VIN engraving event.

Officers spent most of the morning etching VINs onto the vehicles’ catalytic converters. The essential part of the vehicle is usually stolen over the precious metals inside, and with nothing to identify it to the vehicle it belongs to, it can be difficult to trace.

“There will be the VIN number in the engine block or on the door, but as far as the catalytic converter, there is nothing. This is our way of trying to label the catalytic converter to at least prevent theft,” said Sergeant William Frederick, who organized the engraving event.

Frederick says he held the first engraving event earlier this year after seeing other local police departments hold similar events.

Officers get under the vehicles and use special tools to etch the VIN on the catalytic converter. The process only takes a few minutes.

Frederick says nearly 80 drivers signed up before Saturday’s event.

He adds that this latest event means two of the police department’s four precincts have had the opportunity to protect their catalytic converters. He hopes to hold events in precincts around the Ocean and Kempsville areas next year.