Log information about your valuables
FROM OUR COMMUNITY POLICE OFFICERS
Please click here for a handy Excel spreadsheet to help you log important information about your valuables. (excel or pdf)
Police officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department often encounter property that we believe may be stolen. When possible, we check the serial number for the property against our own records and against a national database. For this tactic to be successful, the serial number for the stolen item has to have been recorded. Stolen items sometimes end up in pawn shops. Sometimes they are sold online. The key to being able to successfully return items to their rightful owners, is clearly identifying the property being sold as the same property taken from a victim.
With items like jewelry, there may not be a serial number or identifying feature. For commonly stolen items such as GPS units, laptops, and televisions, there is a manufacturer applied identification/serial number readily available. All too often, our officers have found that victims do not have a record of their serial numbers for their valuables.
In the event of theft, home fire, or natural disaster, having a record of what is in your home, its serial number, and approximate value could prove invaluable. You should also consider taking photographs of all rooms in your home and specific items of high value. Pictures of jewelry, for example, may help identify items stolen. Digital photos can be burned to a disk. After completing the inventory, keep a copy of it at your home and ask a trusted friend or relative to keep second copy. Do the same with your disk of photographs.
Please click here for a handy Excel spreadsheet to help you log important information about your valuables. (excel or pdf)
Police officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department often encounter property that we believe may be stolen. When possible, we check the serial number for the property against our own records and against a national database. For this tactic to be successful, the serial number for the stolen item has to have been recorded. Stolen items sometimes end up in pawn shops. Sometimes they are sold online. The key to being able to successfully return items to their rightful owners, is clearly identifying the property being sold as the same property taken from a victim.
With items like jewelry, there may not be a serial number or identifying feature. For commonly stolen items such as GPS units, laptops, and televisions, there is a manufacturer applied identification/serial number readily available. All too often, our officers have found that victims do not have a record of their serial numbers for their valuables.
In the event of theft, home fire, or natural disaster, having a record of what is in your home, its serial number, and approximate value could prove invaluable. You should also consider taking photographs of all rooms in your home and specific items of high value. Pictures of jewelry, for example, may help identify items stolen. Digital photos can be burned to a disk. After completing the inventory, keep a copy of it at your home and ask a trusted friend or relative to keep second copy. Do the same with your disk of photographs.