Homer Crime Watch

WHAT IS OPERATION IDENTIFICATION?

Nov 12, 2005

Operation identification is a citizens burglary prevention program for use in homes and businesses. The Operation ID program involves the marking of property with an identifying number as a means of discouraging burglary. In communities where it has been properly implemented, Operation Identification has shown dramatic results in its ability to reduce burglaries.
The Operation ID program has two parts. FIRST. Mark your valuables with your Driver's License Number so that your property can be easily traced and identified as yours. SECOND, display a sticker which tells would-be burglars that your property has been marked.
WHAT MAKES OPERATION ID SO EFFECTIVE?
Marked property is difficult for a burglar to dispose of or resell. It can be traced to the rightful owner with relative ease. And, if the burglar is caught with marked property, it is solid evidence of possession of stolen goods.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
To participate in Operation Identification call your local police or sheriff's office to borrow an electric engraving tool. Law enforcement agencies with Crime Prevention Programs have these engraving tools and will lend them to citizens free of charge. Other agencies will direct you to one of the community-minded organizations in your area that are providing engravers for the program. Your Driver's License Number should be used as your identifying mark on the valuables which you engrave. NOTE: Do not mark valuables with your social security number. Federal regulations governing the identity of Social Security registrants make the number next to impossible to trace. If you are not a driver and are over 18 years of age, use your Texas ID Card number.
A typical marking should look like this:
TX4596741DL
The Driver's License Number should be engraved on an area that cannot be easily dismantled, and which is not easily seen After marking your property, make a list of your valuables and keep a copy of the list in a safe place. If you should subsequently become a burglary victim, you will be able to quickly describe the stolen property from the list. This will be of great help to the police in their attempts to recover the stolen possessions. Once property has been marked and a list made, display an Operation identification sticker at doors and windows which might be used for entry. By advertising your participation in Operation ID in this way, you are announcing that your valuable property has been marked and will be difficult for a burglar to re-sell. Often the presence of the sticker alone is enough to deter a burglar.
DO NOT HOWEVER DISPLAY OPERATION ID STICKERS WITHOUT FIRST ENGRAVING YOUR PROPERTY.
Burglary is the most frequently committed crime in the United States. By participating in Operation ID you are taking one important step to protect your possessions from burglary and theft.
MARK THESE POSSESSIONS
The items listed below are those most commonly stolen from homes and businesses:
TV sets
VCR?’s
DVD players
Stereo Equipment
Computers and related equipment
Telephones and fax machines
Camera and video equipment
Fishing rods and reels
Household appliances
Guns
Car stereos
Lawn mowers, weedeaters, leafblowers and other outdoor power equipment
Boat motors, ATV?’s, Scooters, bicycles and other sporting equipment
Tools (hand and power)
Hubcaps
Mag wheels/spare tires
CB/Ham radio equipment
Watches and other jewelry

Valuables that cannot be marked, such as antiques, silver, china, coins, jewelry, etc., or items that do not have serial numbers should be photographed in detail with a complete description of the item on the back of the photograph. Make sure to make a detailed, written record of all marked valuables that includes the serial number, make, model, caliber (for guns) and the location of your mark. These records should be kept in a safe place (ideally with duplicate copies stored in separate locations) to be used for identification in the event of a theft.