Idaho State Journal 1-20-04.doc

(L.E.A.D.S.ONLINE CLIENT - POCATELLO, ID POLICE DEPT.)

Grant helps local pawnshops spot stolen merchandise

By John O'Connell - Journal Writer

POCATELLO - "Mad Mike" Orth won't buy an item for his local pawnshop without first documenting each customer's name, eye color, driver's license number and other data.

It's the kind of bookkeeping that helps police solve crimes.

About five years ago, customer information resulting from a stolen ring Orth bought helped Texas police solve a double homicide.

Most recently, Orth, owner of Mad Mike's Trading Post, 1238 N. Main St., detained an alleged bike thief until Pocatello police could pick him up.

Until six months ago, when the city got a $28,000 federal grant, Orth and his staff recorded the information by hand and gave police about 1,000 transaction sheets each week to enter into their computers.

The grant, with a $10,000 match from the city, financed computers and software enabling Pocatello's eight pawnshop owners to enter information in moments and e-mail police a daily computerized list of purchases.

Orth said police catch thieves much quicker with the new system, which has helped him significantly curtail purchases of stolen property.

"Since they put this computer system in, it's slowed way down, maybe one or two a month," Orth said, adding his business would get four to five stolen items a week before police implemented the new system. "The word is getting out, if they pawn anything, the police will have it that evening."

Police send the information from the pawn shops to a private service, Leadsonline.com, which provides authorities with a national data base of pawned merchandise.

Pocatello Police Capt. Kirk Nelson, who set up the system with help from Mad Mike computer technician Jeff Allmond, said police send pawn shop owners daily lists of stolen items to protect them from taking hot merchandise.

"The nice thing from our perspective is with Leadsonline, we can track a person who lives here who goes to Dallas, Texas, or anywhere," Orth said, adding he hopes Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and cities in southern Utah will adopt the system to establish an Interstate 15corridor of information. "There's not a huge amount of communication between agencies on pawned property."

Orth said earlier this month, a boy sold him a bike which was reported stolen. In less than a day's time, based on Orth's information, they knew the thief's identity. Although the boy eluded police, Orth's employees knew to stop him when he returned to the store about a week later because of information in the computer system.

"We don't like thieves either," said Orth, who displays a sign informing anyone who sells him stolen merchandise they will be prosecuted.

He attends court hearings on a monthly basis.

Donn Cooper, owner of Big D's Gun and Pawn, 352 N. Main St., was the first store to implement the system about nine months ago. He said he seldom gets stolen property, but he has helped police solve crimes because of the system.

"The system is good in that it gives us a heads-up on something that is just stolen," Cooper said.

He said the computer software also helps him with customer service.

"Everything I need is in front of me," he said. "It helps everybody all around."

Pawn shop owners also enter in serial numbers and notes about alterations to merchandise. Orth opened a file about a Nintendo 64 system he had purchased. It included a notation that the system had a Playboy bunny sticker on it, an identifying marker which could help a victim recover stolen property.

Orth, who is often asked to speak to senior citizen groups about ways to protect property, also suggests people record serial numbers of their valuables in a notebook to facilitate recovering their property.

"I had an instance where someone came down and said, 'That's my ring,' and I called Jensen's, and they said they sold 6,000 of those rings. What do you do?" Orth said.

John O'Connell covers courts, law enforcement and local government for the Journal. He can be reached by calling 239-3128 or by e-mail at joconnell@journalnet.com.

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1/20/04