Item 3: PH on Ordinance Concerning Used Merchandise Dealers

Home Browse Search

transactions. The detectives enforce the ordinance and manually distribute and collect secondhand dealer reports and the civilian employee enters data from the paper slips into a database. The database helps detectives to identify and recover stolen property sold or consigned to secondhand stores, and conduct investigations of individuals selling or consigning stolen property. Due to the volume of transactions and the limited staff available to work in this area, EPD can enter into Eugene’s database less than half of the secondhand dealer reports that have been physically collected by the two detectives, which then limits the comparison of secondhand dealer reports to stolen property lists. These limitations are not unique to Eugene; they are also experienced by Springfield police and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LSCO). Inconsistency in used merchandise ordinances and the associated process of dealing with the reporting of secondhand dealers within the region (Eugene, Springfield and Lane County) has provided an opportunity for individuals involved in property crimes to commit their crimes in one jurisdiction and sell the proceeds from that crime at a neighboring jurisdiction’s secondhand store, with an increased likelihood that their criminal activity will go undetected and the stolen property won’t be recovered. EPD conducted two sample examinations of secondhand dealer transactions from three, local full- service secondhand stores during a two-month period in 2003 and 2004. These samples revealed that 40.9% of the secondhand transactions were conducted by customers who have prior local arrest histories for property or drug crimes, excluding arson and less-than-an-ounce-of-marijuana arrests/citations. Secondhand dealers are a significant part of the retail industry and are also victims of property crime when they unknowingly accept stolen goods. Automated Reporting Pilot Project In 2001, Eugene and Springfield Police, the LCSO and other law enforcement officials met to discuss improvements to the system for identification and recovery of stolen property before it is resold and to identify and investigate individuals involved in the sale of stolen property. Eugene, Springfield and Lane County initiated an automated reporting pilot project in October 2002. The pilot project has continued for three years with the voluntary participation of several secondhand stores in Eugene, Springfield and Lane County. The project demonstrated the reliability, data integration, and effectiveness of automated reporting, compelling the three law enforcement agencies to draft a Used Merchandise Dealers Ordinance applicable to all jurisdictions which would ensure that all regulated secondhand stores in the region would be held to the same standards. Attachment A is Eugene’s version of the proposed ordinance. Attachment B explains the process of automated reporting and data integration. During the development of the draft ordinance, the participating law enforcement agencies met with secondhand store owners and managers on two separate occasions for feedback on the proposed ordinance. Understandably, most store owners were not initially interested in making changes to the existing ordinance. However, during the course of the information sessions, many of the merchants’ concerns were addressed and participants in the pilot project were able to communicate the benefits of the process. On December 8, 2005, the Police Commission voted unanimously to support the updated Use Merchandise Dealer Ordinance including the automated reporting component. Following the success of the automated reporting pilot project, EPD and LCSO are now in the process of seeking the adoption of the draft Used Merchandise Dealers Ordinance for each of their respective jurisdictions. Springfield Police Department will move forward with its ordinance amendment process following the successful changes to Eugene and Lane County’s Used Merchandise Dealer Ordinances. Although each of the agencies could independently contract to utilize automated reporting, the program L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060123\S0601233.doc