Rochester, N.Y. – The City of Rochester is again trying to impose stricter requirements on pawn shops, secondhand stores and junkyards.
The biggest change would be they would have to maintain electronic records on city-issued software. They would have to send daily reports to the police departments of the goods taken in.
“To do it electronically, we have to change the whole format, invest more money, perhaps even hire another person to do this on a full-time basis, “said Mike Picow, owner of AA1 Pawn on Main and Clinton. Picow maintains a large, hand-written ledger information on the sellers and their merchandise.
The city last proposed new restrictions a year ago. The regulations have gone through many drafts. Police officials met with City Council on Monday to go over the latest proposal, which is expected to come up for a vote in March.
The city wants to closely track pawn shops and secondhand dealers because of the rise in burglaries. There were more than 3,300 burglaries in Rochester last year.
Ashley, who doesn’t want her last name used, said her house was broken into a few weeks ago. The thieves stole all of her electronic items and jewelry. Ashley scoured pawn shops to find her things.
“There are a lot of pawn shops in Rochester, so covering that much ground wasn’t going to be an easy task. I had a lot of friends calling and going and nothing came up,” she said.
Picow is required to hold items for five days. He said the city won’t cut down on burglaries by going after pawn shops, as long as suburban shops are not subjected to the same regulations.
Picow said, after so many years in the business, he’s able to spot the bad guys and call police when he suspects goods are stolen.
“It’s always from the grandmother, grandfather or something like that.”
