The Automated Pawn System® has been in operation in Eau Claire since October 1, 2005.  After a full year of receiving pawnbroker transaction reports electronically we are starting to realize the benefits we expected to see when we first proposed the ordinance.  We have found that theft reports in the city are down 9% after the implementation of APS.  In addition, the pawn investigator spends less time collecting and sorting through pawn records, but is able to handle more property-related cases with a higher clearance rate.

An HTE "Time Period Comparison Report" of theft cases comparing January 1 to December 14, 2004 with the same period of time in 2006 shows a decrease in total theft reports of 9%.  More significantly, the theft from auto cases with car entries are down by 33.2%.  Thefts from buildings and other misdemeanor theft were also down.  Bike thefts and thefts of external auto parts were up some and felony thefts remained the same.

Burglaries during the same time period are up about 20%.  However, we have found that the detective assigned to pawn investigations is able to do many more property crime investigations with far more efficiency than was possible before we had APS.  The result is a higher clearance rate with less staff time investment.

In 2004 the pawn investigator solved 64% of the 50 property crime related cases that he was assigned.  In addition, he was also responsible for the following duties that are no longer necessary since the implementation of APS:

• Collecting transaction reports from the pawnshops
• Making copies of the pawn records for other area agencies
• Mailing selected reports to out-of-area agencies who may have stolen property pawned in Eau Claire
• Hand checking reports for serial numbers and gun transactions

In 2006 the pawn investigator solved 85% of the 82 property crime related cases that he was assigned.  Many of the cases were cleared as a direct result of finding stolen property using APS. 

A fair amount of local publicity focused on APS after these investigations were complete.  As a result, the community has become more aware of the investigative benefits of APS.  That fact may partly account for the reduction in theft cases during 2006.

APS was also instrumental in establishing that some of our local pawnshops are violating state regulations for pawnbrokers who are not licensed as loan companies.

Our success has motivated several other Wisconsin communities to consider implementing pawn ordinances modeled after ours.

The first year of the Automated Pawn System® has been very successful.  We expect even better results as more communities become involved in APS.

Eric E. Larsen

Deputy Chief, Detective Division

Eau Claire Police Department