The City of Williamsport recognizes that stolen items often are sold or pawned to pawnshops and secondhand dealers by individuals who utilize pawnshops/secondhand dealers both to generate an immediate source of income for stolen goods and to dispose of stolen property to prevent law enforcement from finding stolen goods and property. Because of the lack of uniform record keeping requirements for pawnshop/secondhand dealers in the city, the tracking of both stolen property and the individuals disposing of it through such merchants is very difficult. Moreover, because there are no restrictions on the length of time that pawnshops/secondhand dealers must hold pawned or purchased property before resale, law enforcement is hampered in retrieving the property and returning it to the rightful owners and victims in theft and burglary cases.
(Ord. 6200, approved 9-1-2011)