Beat The Burglars: Can I Aid The Investigation?

This is part of an ongoing series answering common questions from burglary victims. Mukilteo police detective John Ernst agreed to lend his experience working cases for a quick FAQ. For more information on this series, check out the introduction and table of contents.

Sirens: Is there anything I can do to help the police investigation?

Detective John Ernst: Hopefully you’ve documented your property with photographs. Be sure to provide as complete a list (as possible) of your missing property, along with serial numbers, descriptions and photographs. I recommend people look for their property on Craigslist and eBay.

Understand that if you see something that looks familiar on Craigslist or eBay, there must be a way to determine if it is yours (serial number, owner applied number, very unique item, etc.). Otherwise, there is no way to prove it was yours. About 30 days after the burglary, you can start looking in pawn shops. Remember, you are looking for something that was unique. A $500 diamond pendant sold by a national jeweler does not fit that description, unless it’s engraved.

If you see several items at the same pawn shop that you recognize as yours, an officer can check to see if they were all pawned by the same person. This can help establish that the items are yours.

{Read more Beat The Burglars}