Pawn shops and stolen goods..
I’ve just been robbed… should I check out my local pawn shops?
You’ve come home and your house was broken into and they have stolen your jewelry, electronics, and money… You have gone out to the garage and noticed that your tools are missing. At that point the first thing you do is call the police but unless you have all your serial numbers it will be almost impossible to track your items. Here are a few tips to help you be prepared…..pick up a folder or notebook and log in every serial number according to the item and it’s category such as electronics, computers, tools, bicycles, scooters, and such. Also any outstanding markings that make your item stand out. Jewelry is best if you have a picture and describe all stones and any initials that are engraved. This folder will be extremely important in not only helping to find your items but will help to replace items with your insurance company if for some reason they can not be found.
I have worked at a pawn shop for many years and they have gotten a bad rap but I want to tell you a little on how they work and this may help you not only find your items but save you a lot of foot work. I can’t tell you how many people have come into the store saying.. “The police told me to check all the pawn shops!!” PLEASE…..Do not run to your nearest pawn shop looking for your items..this is the worse thing you can do. First of all you want to check the laws and requirements that your state has to control pawn shops. Pawn shops actually work very closely with police and most will down load all items taken in that day and that list is sent to the detectives and then is cross matched with all items that have been reported stolen.
If a pawn shop buys an item it is usually required by law to sit in the back for at least 30 days while it is being cleared … 60-90 days if it is a loan…so don’t come running in and searching the shelves. A clerk is required to note any and all initials, outstanding markings, serial numbers, and what ever makes this item stand out. A pawn shop DOES NOT want to take in stolen goods so if you put your initials on your items and we check the ID of the person that is bringing in your item and the initials don’t match… most of the time we will turn the item away and it walks out the door. No clerk wants to get a subpoena and have to go to court so we do all that we can to turn away stolen goods. There is also a privacy act so if you come into the store and ask about either certain people or items we can not divulge any information as it is also against the law. The name of the person that brought the item in is also down loaded to the police and gets red flagged if this name was given to the police. I know you feel violated and want to do everything you can to find your items but if you come into the store and tell the clerks about your stolen items …. if it walks through the door…. no one is going to want to take it in. Unfortunately it’ll walk right back out the door and there fore does not get down loaded and sent to the police dept.. You actually want them to take your items to a pawn shop rather than sell them on the streets…you will not only have a signature but a thumbprint and some states even require a picture with the item that they bring in. I can not stress this enough… clerks will do everything they can to not take in an item that they do not believe belongs to the person bringing it in…..pawn shops do not want to take in any stolen items. As a clerk we were glad to get a heads up on stolen goods… so let the detectives do their job and after the designated time has passed on the hold of goods bought or loaned.. you may then go in and check the shelves.
Get started on your folder and no one can prevent you from being a victim of a robbery but you can be a smart victim. Call the police and give them any and all information you have in your folder and they will enter that information on their data base and hopefully they will be able to find and return your stolen items.
