RC: Theft reporting and prevention

[RunRoskoRun@aol.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your dad's saddle, Garrett.  Did you report it stolen 
to Auburn PD?  If not, here's their phone # (916) 823-4237.  Call them now 
and report it.  They may just give you a log number, but at least its a 
start.  If they are reluctant to help after the delay, e-mail me, I have a 
friend who works there and will get you results.  Anyone else who had items 
stolen, contact the law enforcement agency who has jurisdiction over the area 
that the theft occurred.

I was at Tevis this year and was amazed at all the property/equipment left 
unattended.  I know that endurance riders as a whole are good people, but 
times are changin' folks and as the sport is getting more popular, there will 
be more people around with questionable morals and ethics.  Sadly, that's 
just the way it is.

The best prevention for theft is not to leave things unattended.  Put it up 
and lock it up.  Before you leave it out, even for a minute, ask yourself how 
upset you would be if it "disappeared".

Mark your belongings with initials and/or your driver's license number.  Do 
not use your social security number.  Unless you're a criminal and already 
"in the system", most state data bases cannot do a search via SSN, but they 
can punch in a DL and get a hit.  Then its easier to track you down.  If your 
property is serialized by the manufacturer, write it down and keep it in a 
safe place.

It sounds to me as if the property stolen at Tevis was stolen by folks who 
wanted it for personal use, not for pawning.  If you have property stolen in 
this case, you'll probably never get it back.  : (   If it has been stolen 
and is going to be sold, you have a far greater chance of getting it back if  
1). you report the theft to law enforcement  2). your property is serialized 
or marked with a personal identifier (i.e., driver's license #).

Honestly, 9 times out of 10 you won't see your property again, but if you 
don't report it, you don't even give law enforcement the chance to look.  
I'll give an example.  If your property is serialized and stolen and you 
report it to the police in Auburn, they will enter that serial number into a 
state wide (sometimes nation wide) data base for stolen property.  Then if 
another agency stops someone 500 miles away and they have your saddle and the 
police run the numbers through the data base, BAM!! it comes up stolen and 
that person gets arrested for possession of stolen property.   If you just 
put your driver's license # on the stuff, the police can run the number and 
get your name/address and contact you to inquire about the whereabouts of 
your property.  If you tell them, "oh, that was stolen on 8-4-01 and reported 
to Auburn PD case #123xyz," once they confirm it......another one goes to 
jail.  Even if you don't have any identifiers on the property, report it if 
it gets stolen.  They can at least enter it into their local data base.  Then 
when they find some dirtball using your cooler to cover all the junk in the 
back seat of his car, they can check their local records and hopefully take 
someone to jail.  Also, pawn and consignment shops aren't real hot on taking 
in property with personal identifiers unless the seller has some sort of 
documentation showing where they got it.

Hope these tips help someone, any questions feel free to e-mail me.

Abigail Madden
Rosko 
& Tiger