Posted on Mon, Oct. 08, 2007

Some stolen goods only a click away

BY SARA PAUFF

Phenix City Police will begin using a national database to track stolen property sold to pawn shops and secondhand stores.

The department will use LeadsOnline, a database that catalogs inventory received by pawn shops, secondhand stores, scrap metal collectors and shopping Web sites such as eBay, both locally and nationwide.

The database can then be searched by local law enforcement looking for stolen property.

"The system will be good for law enforcement and for pawn shop owners," said Capt. Frank Ivey with the Phenix City Police.

With LeadsOnline, shop owners catalog the item on the Web site from a computer at their store when they receive it. When someone reports a stolen item, officers can log onto the site and see if the item has been sold to any pawn shops recently.

In the past, police officers had to visit individual stores to collect lists of items received and file it into their own local database, a process Ivey said was "labor intensive."

The database also has a wider range and allows police to search for stolen property outside of the city. "It's very simple. It will be no change for us," said Brent Hilyer, owner of Pawn Headquarters on the U.S. 280 Bypass in Phenix City. Hilyer already e-mails a list of items pawned to police every day.

One pawn shop owner said while using the program will be a simple transition, she had some concerns about privacy issues.

Donna Grantham of Northside Pawn on the U.S. 280 Bypass in Phenix City said even though only law enforcement has access to the database's search engine, she still has concerns about other people being able to access the Internet-based program.

"Your pawns are supposed to be confidential," she said.

Police departments in Opelika and Montgomery already use the system.

Columbus Police has its own electronic database, which is updated with newly pawned items on a daily basis. A list is sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which can search for stolen property throughout the state on a weekly basis.

The week-long gap allows time for everything that has been stolen to be entered into the system, said Columbus Police Lt. Gil Slouchick.

"It cuts down on the opportunity to miss an item," he said.

Slouchick said while the databases Phenix City and Columbus police use to keep track of pawned and stolen items are not compatible, the two agencies keep in constant contact via telephone regarding stolen property.

"We have a very good working relationship with Phenix City Police and are constantly working with them in an effort to recover stolen property," he said.

Phenix City Police started using the program this month. All businesses in Phenix City that accept merchandise from the public, including scrap metal and junk dealers, must register on the Web site by the beginning of 2008.