By Brandon Formy, Staff Writer

 

February 16, 2005
Second Edition

 

POLICE PUT DATABASE TO WORK

Program tracks pawn transactions, helping recover stolen goods

Flower Mound police have found a new ally in the once-arduous task of tracking stolen goods and the people who try to pawn them.

Last month, the department began using an online database that tracks pawn transactions nationally.

The Law Enforcement Automated Database Search, or l.e.a.d.s., allows officers to search the Web-based system of pawnshop transactions by serial numbers, descriptions of items and even suspects' names.

"Previously we had to call each pawnshop," Detective John Ryckeley said.

Considering the number of pawnshops in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, that adds up to a lot of hours on the phone. And the search is limited to the immediate area.

But l.e.a.d.s. takes a fraction of the time and casts a much wider net.

The database is something the department expects to rely on heavily.

"Our criminal investigators are 100 percent going to be using this," said Lt. Wendell Mitchell, a police spokesman.

Because pawnshops take down the sellers' information - and often their driver's license numbers - tracking down a suspect who might have stolen something isn't difficult.

"It enables us to do everything we can for the victim," Detective Ryckeley said. "I would say a majority of pawnshops [in the area] are using l.e.a.d.s."

Detective Ryckeley even solved a burglary during a trial run with the system last year.

"It's a great program," the detective said. "I think there's going to be more success stories with this program."