Tips on Recovering Stolen Items

Being burgled is a terrible experience, but it can be a wake-up call for many of us about how poorly protected our assets can be.

While insurance can help cover the cost of replacing items most of us would rather have our property back. However, even if police recover stolen goods one of the hardest issues can be proving who the real owners are of each item. If you don’t have records and your items aren’t security marked then it can at times be virtually impossible to prove ownership.

Using Identifying Security Marks 

Many people don’t know how to protect their items in the event of a burglary therefore fail to do so. To be safe, keep item descriptions, serial numbers, and photos of your valuables. You can also place identifying security marks on your property, so they can be quickly recognised as belonging to you.

Try marking your soft items, such as leather, or cloth with a marker and use a UV security marking pen to mark high valued Items with ‘shiny’ surfaces such as iPads, tablets, laptops, projectors, cameras, mobiles, bikes, garden utilities - where chemical etching won't penetrate.

Call the Police 

The first thing to do when you find that your home has been broken into is do call the Police. Filing a police report and providing as much information as possible about your stolen goods will help the police in their investigation.

Check in with the police weekly to see if they’ve made progress on your case. Reminding the police about your case will keep it fresh in their minds.

Check out local pawn and second-hand goods Shops 

It is not uncommon for thieves to take stolen goods to a pawn shop or second hand goods store in your local area and surrounding towns. Ring around and visit some of these shops immediately after the event.

If you find your goods in a shop don’t demand your good back or attempt to buy them back. You should ask the shop to reserve them for you and contact the police straight away.

Browse through the eBay listings 

EBay is another popular method used by burglars to get rid of hot items. If you happen to stumble across your missing items on eBay, print a copy of the listing, complete with the eBay site address, date, item number, and User ID.

Print one copy for yourself and one for the police. By giving the police the listing, they can then go about recovering your items. Hopefully these tips will be able to help you recover your stolen items in the unfortunate event of a burglary.

Remember by security marking your items, this will increase your chances of recovering them.

Security Marking for Business and Industry 

If you’re an organisation or business then your security marking needs to be more organised than a simple UV pen and the method you use can vary across your different assets and equipment.

Specialists in asset and security marking Dantech Ltd can help you find the right security marking system for you including UV security marking stencils suitable for shiny surfaced equipment like iPads, ID security plates for big or high value equipment and asset labels for smaller items, tools and equipment. For more information visit www.idmark.com.