A Picture That’s Worth a Thousand Dollar Item? We have noticed a growing trend of the victims of theft not having serial numbers or accurate descriptions of make and model. When serial numbers are provided to the police in a theft report the information is entered into the system so that the following can be done If the suspect is stopped with the items in their possession we can determine if the item is stolen. Large cashes of stolen items are routinely located and recovered, with the serial number your item can be returned. Property gets auctioned off every year because the proper owner can’t be determined. When items are located and associated with a suspect it is much easier to get successful arrest and prosecution. Having serial numbers saves the department valuable man hours in investigation. Serial numbers will ease the reporting process to insurance companies, assisting in the replacement process. On items that don’t have serial numbers, a quality photo of the actual item will likely be a suitable replacement. The next question is how do you record this information? We have an Operation Pawn Trace form that was designed to keep this kind of information on and can be found (here). If you would prefer a different way to record serial numbers, obtain a video camera and just walk around the house picking up valuable items and reading their serial numbers as you go. Then store the video in a place that can be retrieved in the event of a theft or fire. Some times a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case it just might be worth a thousand dollar item.
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