By Theresa Goffredo

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Burglars broke into Irwon and Joan Handy’s garage in the 1970s and stepped over some expensive tools to steal a two-bit drill.

The Handys still scratch their heads over that one. But today the couple participates in a home security-enhancement program that involves scratching a "brand" onto their belongings to prevent theft.

The Handys participate in Operation Identification. They use an electric engraver to scratch a special number onto their cell phone, tools and other items that burglars can easily remove from their home. The couple also displays Operation ID stickers at their home.

"We feel this way we have a better chance of getting the items back, and that’s the incentive for people to do it," 65-year-old Joan Handy said.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office crime prevention officer Pat Cudinski agreed. She helped demonstrate the branding technique to Everett Mall South residents who gathered last week for a neighborhood association meeting.

Cudinski has been to at least three neighborhood association meetings to discuss crime prevention, and encourages all neighborhood groups to participate in Operation ID because she believes it works.

Some neighborhood associations have bought their own engravers. The sheriff’s office charges 50 cents for each item to be branded, said Cudinski, who works for the county’s south precinct office.

Residents can also go to the National Neighborhood Watch Institute Web site at www.nnwi.org for more information or to order a variety of crime prevention stickers, T-shirt decals and other materials.

"When you display the Operation ID logo, it lets burglars know it’s not worth their while," Cudinski said.

The suggested way to brand items as part of the Operation ID program is to engrave the letters "WA" in front of your driver’s license or state identification number, and then engrave the letters "ID" at the end of the number. This alerts anyone who finds a stolen item that it came from Washington state and also prevents the burglar from engraving additional numbers after your driver’s license number.

Pawnshop owners usually ask for identification before they buy an item and will check to see if the number on the branded item matches the number on the driver’s license.

Operation ID is just one of the tools neighborhoods can use to beef up their Block Watch programs, said Cudinski, who encourages residents to get together to form block watches and neighborhood associations.

"And it’s not just crime prevention," Cudinski said. "It’s an excuse to be good neighbors, because each time you get together, you become more of a neighborhood."

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097

or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.