CrimeBeat: Is there a way to track stolen household items?

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature in which a Press Democrat reporter answers readers' questions about local crimes and the law.

There was recently a break-in at my home. Is there a way to track whether or not any of my household items have been found?

There are a few ways to track personal belongings that have been stolen, but it starts with local law enforcement.

Police or sheriff's deputies will request a list of stolen items with descriptions, including serial numbers. Law enforcement receives paper and electronic records from pawn shops within their jurisdictions and enters them into the National Crime Information Center, an electronic clearinghouse of crime data available to virtually every criminal justice agency.

Detectives also monitor local social media sites, including Craigslist, for items reported stolen. Victims of burglaries also are encouraged to look for their items being sold on the web and in pawn shops, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Marcus Sprague said.

Quite often victims find their property in pawn shops and secondhand stores, but Sprague said if that occurs, the best action is to call police to intervene. This also is true when a victim finds stolen belongings online.

“We try to aggressively handle those situations,” Sprague said. “We'll never say, ‘Yeah, you should go meet them.' We'll utilize detectives and undercover officers in those situations.”

The NCIC database also allows people to recover possessions showing up in other jurisdictions. Recently an item stolen in Santa Rosa turned up in a pawn shop in San Diego, Sprague said. Law enforcement in San Diego contacted Santa Rosa police and put a hold on the item in question.

But when stolen property is found for sale it doesn't mean the burglary victim gets the item back immediately - it's technically the property of the pawn shop or secondhand store.

“It's a weird part about the law,” Sprague said. “I cannot take it from the pawn store and give it back. When people go into a store and remove property we call it a robbery.”

When a stolen item is found in a pawn shop, police put the shop owner and victim in contact. Often victims then face the unfortunate reality of buying back their own property.

“It doesn't make common sense,” Sprague noted, “but the law doesn't always make common sense.”

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.