Computerized Tracking of Stolen Office Equipment - A New Enforcement Offensive in the Making - A Special Report to the Administrator

• NCJ Number: 82690
• Author(s): M E Walsh
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 119 pages
• Corporate Author: Battelle Human Affairs Research Ctrs; US Dept of Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report describes a new investigative technique, based on computerized matching of automated stolen-property files with repair records of private industry, which makes possible the identification and recovery of stolen goods and the investigation of illicit traffickers in such items.

Abstract

The first part of the report describes the national distribution patterns for stolen office equipment revealed by the identification of the current locations across the country of about 7,000 stolen typewriters. The second part focuses on the stolen office equipment marketplace in California, based on the results of a series of documented field investigations of illicit transactions involving stolen typewriters. The investigative technique consists of identifying the current locations of stolen goods by making machine comparisons between automated stolen-property files maintained by law enforcement agencies and automated repair records of private industry. Because the technique uses existing automated recordkeeping systems, it is a practical and cost-effective means of generating large numbers of quality investigations of illicit traffickers in stolen merchandise and of identifying and recovering stolen property. The California investigation resulted in an increase of 22.7 percent in the statewide recovery rate for stolen office equipment over a base period preceding project implementation. Tabular data are provided.