By Josh Robinson
November 30, 2018
SAVANNAH, Tenn. — LeadsOnline is a website helping both police and businesses, such as pawnshops, who are required to report their transactions to police.
Brad Smith owns a pawn shop in Savannah. “It enables police to have one database, to search all items, and that way it weeds out anything that might be stolen,” he said.
Savannah police have recently started using LeadsOnline.
“It tracks serial numbers, it tracks Craigslist transactions, it tracks eBay,” Savannah Police Chief Michael Pitts said. “So it’s a pretty impressive database that has a nationwide reach.”
Chief Pitts says with Hardin County bordering both Mississippi and Alabama, it will be a great tool to track stolen property coming into and leaving Tennessee.
While you might think police will mainly use this to track the guns that come into pawnshops, there’s much more to it than that. They’ll also use it to track items including guitars, lawn equipment, televisions — anything with a serial number.
“We can enter a stolen item with a serial number, and it runs continuously for the next 90 days checking nationwide,” Chief Pitts said.
And Smith says, with this website, they might be able to return stolen property to its owner.
“We will participate. Hopefully that will make it easier for them, better for us and better for everybody in the community,” Smith said.
Community members can also use LeadsOnline to help keep track of the serial numbers of their own belongings.
Source: https://www.wbbjtv.com/2018/11/30/website-helps-police-business-owners-identify-stolen-goods/