Council Bluffs Pawn Shops To Photograph All Sellers
The next time you pawn an item in Council Bluffs, get ready to smile. A picture will be taken of everyone who sells items to local pawn shops. Previously, pawn shop employees would only take photos of anyone selling items from out of state...
At the urging of police, the Council Bluffs City Council passed an ordinance requiring pawn shops to take a picture of every seller on Monday. David Drake, who owns Metro Pawn & Loan, says only 6-12 pieces a year that come into his store were stolen. He says he doesn’t mind the ordinance change.
"I have no problem with it. Since I’ve been open we've done that, we've taken photos of every person that comes in and sells an item just for our records," Drake explained.
Currently, employees have to take a fingerprint, signature, and check a photo ID for people who live in Iowa. The Council Bluffs Police Dept. says it's something they've needed for a while.
"The problem that we've run into in the past is whether that ID that they present is really the person's ID,” Detective Ron Branigan explained. "This way at least we have record of the individual who's actually pawning or selling the item."
The ordinance also applies to 2nd hand dealers or anyone who buys, sells, or deals previously owned items. The Council Bluffs ordinance will go into effect by the end of this week.
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