by Alexander J. Zielinski
You’ve come home to your front door standing wide open. You go to your car and see broken glass. You walk to your garage and see the overhead door is up. There are things you can do to prevent this situations, but now that they’ve occurred and your property is missing, what can you do? If you are concerned that the perpetrator is still in the area call police immediately. Call police to report your incident. While this may not always seem worth the trouble for small items, this action may tie your theft to other break-ins or burglaries that have occurred. Also, if your property is located the police have a greater chance of returning it to you.
The best piece of information that you can provide is normally one that people often overlook until a theft has taken place. Record your serial numbers and store them in a safe place. Your serial number can be as unique as a fingerprint and can help the police return the property to you once it is located. The more specific you can be about your item, including the serial number, is helpful if burglars were taking one specific type of item. If a large number of these items are found in someone’s possession, the serial number is linked to you, not just a generic laptop description.
Many electronics now have an online registration process and record your serial number. If your property has been stolen and you do not have the serial number it may be helpful to contact the manufacturer. This number may also be inside instruction manuals or other documentation.
Some local law enforcement agencies offer free serial number registries for items such as bicycles. If you register your bicycle the agency will maintain the serial number and description for you.
Not all items have serial numbers or unique features. For these items you can use an engraver, or any sharp object, to put a unique number or other identifier on the item. In many cases you will want the put the mark or number in a place not easily seen to prevent normal wear and tear from removing it, and to reduce the chance it will be seen by a thief and removed.
There are also devices and systems that utilize GPS so that it can be located anywhere in the world so long as the tag is still attached to the item. These services usually require a monthly service fee but arelikely to locate your property and the thief.
Having your property can be heartbreaking, irritating, and cause a lot of anger, making your property easily identifiable can increase the likelihood of it being returned to you. Contacting your local law enforcement agency for assistance should be your first step in deterring and reversing theft.
Alexander Zielinski is a firefighter at the City of Providence Fire Department. He has been involved in the public safety field for almost ten years and is a contributing public safety writer for Examiner.com