State to
track stolen property online
MIAMI (AP) — Florida has launched
an online law enforcement records system that will
allow people to check to see if the goods they want to
buy are stolen or if someone they know is wanted. The
new Florida Department of Law Enforcement site allows
people to enter identification numbers for items
ranging from household appliances to vehicles and
license plates to see if they've been reported stolen.
If an item is in the database,
people can click on it and e-mail a tip to police. An
arrest can earn a tipper up to a $1,000 reward.
An addition to the Internet site in
December will let the public check if someone they
know is reported missing or wanted by authorities.
"We have asked the public to
help us battle crime," FDLE Commissioner Tim
Moore said Wednesday. "We have tried to give them
access the past three to four years to help us. This
system gives us just that."
Moore said the site, which is
updated nightly, is the first statewide system of its
kind in the country.
The FDLE hopes the site will improve
the recovery rate of stolen goods and narrow the
market for stolen products. Moore said $1.5 billion
worth of products were reported stolen last year in
Florida, with law enforcement recovering $558 million
of it.
"We're not where we want to be
with those figures," he said. "In past it's
been buyer beware — with this system it's buyer be
informed."
Moore said the agency got the idea
for the site from Polk County police, who use a
similar system to nab criminals by putting their
pictures on the Internet. He said Polk County has had
impressive results.
The site does have its drawbacks,
Moore admitted. For example, crooks can check to see
if goods they've stolen are in the system so they can
sell them before they are logged. Also, people might
not know the identification numbers for merchandise
stolen from them.
Still, Moore is confident the site
will have an impact on the stolen goods market and
will help police catch criminals.
"I want people to know who
they're living next to," he said. "Criminals
do their business on anonymity. This levels the
playing field by bringing in 14 million sets of
additional eyes."
Related Links:
The
Florida Crime Information Center Public Access System
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