Frustration with some people

[pawncop]

I was at the P D today, seeing how I would do as far as stamina since I had pneumonia diagnosed last Sunday. (one nice aspect of being a reserve officer, I set my own hours).

So I get a call from a citizen telling me he has found his air compressor in one of the local pawn shops.

I start looking into the case. Back in June he reports a blue air compressor stolen. No brand, no model, no serial number, no psi, no nothing.

Now the facts seem to indicate he MAY be right. But the courts do not accept it MAY be his.

I have encouraged him to locate any documentation that will assist him in proper indentification regarding his property.

But it is so frustrating to have someone get upset because they perceive I will not take action because they KNOW the item is theirs.

Knowing is not proving.

Record your serial numbers and/or have complete description and engrave your drivers license on this items without serial numbers.

Your local pawn shop detective will thank you.

 

[txbikerman]

You got to be able to prove that it is yours

 

[pawncop]

Yep, I have worked several cases where folks swear it is their property and when investigation is completed it ain't theirs. I had one lady so mad at me because she was certain a ring set was hers. Turned out the rings had been pawned two (2) years before she made her report.

 

[txbikerman]

most of my tools are engraved .

 

[jordanmills]

For real. How do people not keep serial numbers?

 

[pawncop]

Happens all the time. When I was on patrol and would go to a theft or burglary report, many many times I would hear "They took my TV!!!" When asked to describe it I would get - "It was black". Nothing else. You would be amazed the poor descriptions I got then and we still get now. Part of my responsibilities now is to review and document property reported in burglary, robbery, and theft reports. Fully 30% of the items reported do not have even the brand. Maybe 3-5% if that much will I get a decent description. Around 1% will have a serial number.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Hmmm, I have my gun serials recorded but I never even thought about doing that with my tv. I'm going to go take pictures now. Curious though how you would go about recovering something like a stolen custom built pc? There's no serial or anything I can think of recording....guess this is where engraving comes in handy. Would it work if I just scratch my dl# in an inconspicuous place on the case?

 

[PhulesAu]

Hmmm, I have my gun serials recorded but I never even thought about doing that with my tv. I'm going to go take pictures now. Curious though how you would go about recovering something like a stolen custom built pc? There's no serial or anything I can think of recording....guess this is where engraving comes in handy. Would it work if I just scratch my dl# in an inconspicuous place on the case?

does the HD or other part have a serial number? gotta be some factory number on stuff , just for warranty if nothing else.

 

[pawncop]

Many items do not have true serial numbers. Black and Decker tools are a great example. There is a number but it is a manufacture date code and not unique (learned the hard way on that one). A great habit to get into - for any major purchase take a photo of the serial number of the item and a photo of the item itself. Use your phone if you want to.

Then engrave your state drivers license or ID number. Social security numbers are not helpful. That is a federal database that state agencies will not have access to. Initials are not helpful. I have a camera in evidence now with ATI initials on it but no idea of the owner. BTW it has 297 photos of a construction site. I went through all 297 images trying to get a clue as to ownership. Any help from out there would be appreciated.

I appreciate the interest and responses.

I hope you find this helpful.

 

[jordanmills]

Hmmm, I have my gun serials recorded but I never even thought about doing that with my tv. I'm going to go take pictures now. Curious though how you would go about recovering something like a stolen custom built pc? There's no serial or anything I can think of recording....guess this is where engraving comes in handy. Would it work if I just scratch my dl# in an inconspicuous place on the case?

Most of the internals will have serial numbers. The hard drive and CPU will for sure. You might need software to read them, but they're there.

 

[jordanmills]

I have a camera in evidence now with ATI initials on it but no idea of the owner. BTW it has 297 photos of a construction site. I went through all 297 images trying to get a clue as to ownership. Any help from out there would be appreciated.

Can you post them? I like trying to recover data indirectly from images.

 

[vmax]

this thread got me to thinking I need to record the numbers off of my lawn equipment.
can a up close photo of the number work?

 

[pawncop]

vmax,
absolutely a great way to go.

 

[vmax]

vmax,
absolutely a great way to go.

thanks, then I can do that pretty quick and easy. Thanks for reminding me to do this!
a lot of the things stolen in Abilene gets taken to Ft Worth for pawn, or at least that is what the local LE told me.

 

[General Zod]

For real. How do people not keep serial numbers?

Easy. Most older people don't even consider writing down serial numbers. My dad never wrote down the serial numbers of his guns. I did - but then lost the list. I kept telling myself I'd write them down again "next time" I visited him...

And then they got stolen. We've found ONE serial number since, but that gun hasn't turned up so far. The others may as well have never existed, because we won't ever see them again. Lesson learned the hard way.

 

[txbikerman]

I need to update my gun serial number list.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[General Zod]

Don't list them. Use your phone to take a picture of the gun, then a close-up of the S/N - then email both to yourself and save them.

 

[dbgun]

I need to update my gun serial number list.

Just did this, on Tuesday. I keep an Excel spreadsheet on my home & work computer. I had a couple of firearms, that I hadn't recorded the SN, yet.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Don't list them. Use your phone to take a picture of the gun, then a close-up of the S/N - then email both to yourself and save them.

Either this or putting something on a cloud service are the best options. The only way this info is getting lost is if we destroy the NSA database in Utah and Google's scattered databases lol or if there is a conspiracy against you and google shuts off access to your account : P

 

[IXLR8]

Either this or putting something on a cloud service are the best options. The only way this info is getting lost is if we destroy the NSA database in Utah and Google's scattered databases lol or if there is a conspiracy against you and google shuts off access to your account : P

Make sure you encrypt your files. It gives the NSA computers something to do....