Item 4: Ordinance Concerning Used Merchandise Dealers

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Eugene has dedicated two property detectives and one civilian employee to regulate approximately 60 secondhand stores in Eugene that annually produce over 54,000 transactions. The detectives enforce the existing ordinance and manually distribute and collect reports. The civilian employee enters data from the paper slip reports into a database which then helps detectives to identify and recover stolen property sold or consigned to used merchandise 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 in turn limits the comparison of secondhand dealer reports to stolen property lists. These limitations are not unique to Eugene, but are also experienced by Springfield police and the LSCO. The existing ordinance has not been effective in reducing the opportunity for individuals involved in property crimes to commit their crimes in one jurisdiction and sell the proceeds from that crime at a store in a neighboring jurisdiction. When this occurs, there is an increased likelihood that criminal activity will go undetected and stolen property won’t be recovered. Used merchandise dealers are a significant part of the retail industry and are also victims of property crime when they unknowingly accept goods which have been stolen. 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. Automated Reporting Pilot Project In 2001, due to rising property crime, 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 three-year, voluntary project demonstrated the reliability of the automated system and the ability of the system to integrate data from the electronic records to existing regional, state and national crime data bases. The effectiveness of automated reporting compelled the three law enforcement agencies to suggest the amendments (see Attachment A) to the Used Merchandise Dealers Ordinance which would be applicable to all jurisdictions and ensure that all regulated used merchandise stores in the region would be held to the same standards. Attachment B explains the process of automated reporting and data integration. Law enforcement agencies have met with representatives of the used merchandise stores 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 draft Used Merchandise Dealer Ordinance. EPD and the LCSO are now in the process of amending their Used Merchandise or Secondhand Dealers Ordinance. Springfield Police Department plans to move forward with its ordinance amendment process on April 3, 2006. Although each of the agencies could independently contract to utilize automated reporting, the program is much more effective if all agencies can participate. Uniform adoption eliminates the opportunity for criminals to simply sell their stolen merchandise in another community or L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060213\S0602134.doc