Protecting Your Assets
Paul Myrick, the President of the Amboy Neighborhood Association received the following message from the NLR Police:
We recently made an arrest where over 90 pawn tickets were discovered. This means that people who break into your homes and vehicles are pawning (at least some) of your stolen property. Make sure that you record serial numbers to the property you would like to get back if stolen like: TVs – cameras – DVD players – firearms – game stations – also, take the time to photograph and etch your DL number some place not readily visible. Too many times we take reports where the victims do not have any serial numbers recorded.
Paul then goes on to explain the some of the process that pawn shops go through (he’s worked at one of the pawn shops on Belwood) and gives some vital advice:
THE OWNER HAS TO HAVE THE SERIAL NUMBERS RECORDED SOMEWHERE IN ORDER FOR THIS SYSTEM TO WORK.
Every week there are at least 5 people who either come by or call the shop to ask if we’ve seen this or that lately. I know by the way they ask that they’ve been ripped off and they are trying to find their stuff. I ask the question “did you report it to the police?” and “Did you have the Serial Numbers for the police report,” and 9 times out of 10 they did not. These are the people who will never get their stuff back, and the person who ripped them off will remain free to rip someone else off.
Take the time to create a home inventory – you will be thankful you did. As Paul says, it can be as simple as a sheet of notebook paper (kept somewhere safe of course – remember that you don’t want to lose it in a fire as this will be very helpful for insurance purposes also).
There are also online services that will keep an inventory for you. I found Know Your Stuff, an online home inventory, and I’m trying it out now.
Anyone have any good advice or experience with home inventories and other ways to protect your items?
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We had a breakin on La Vista Drive Friday, April 24th. Please keep an eye out for anyone who looks out of the ordinary on the Scenic Hill. Call the NLR Police Department non-emergency number to report them.