Pawnshops and law enforcement working together to solve crimes
“For the past 15 years Chavela Simmons, the owner of All-N-One Pawn shop in Kanawha City, has enforced strict guidelines when a customer comes in with something to pawn or sell. We’ve always done paperwork even if we buy a DVD for 50 cents or a dollar … it doesn’t matter,” Simmons said. “We take the person’s ID, write it up, and it goes to the city of Charleston.” And she’s taking another step to help protect her business by signing up for LeadsOnline, a national database that the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department and the Charleston Police Department subscribe to — to track stolen items. “It can make a huge difference in recovering stolen property and getting people to justice that are doing the break ins,” Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said. Signing up for the online program may soon become mandatory for any second-hand shop in the county if the “pawn shop ordinance” passes. Simmons’ shop is one of several in the area that are ahead of the game. “I think it’s going to be easier at the end of the day,” Simmons said. “We do our books and close it out. It’s just going to be one click, and everybody will have access to it.” All it means for Simmons is swapping out paper for a computer screen. It’s a move she hopes will save her shop money and trouble. The ordinance would not only include places like pawn shops and second-hand stores, but also scrapyards to help put a dent in copper theft. Since 2009, Rutherford says almost 100 stolen items have been tracked down in the county because of LeadsOnline. Forty-eight of those items were guns.”
Kanawha county Sheriff’s Department
West Virginia