The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A LEADING pawnbroker said yesterday he had seen a noticeable decrease in the amount of stolen property brought to his business since new legislation governing the industry came into force. Darin Doti, manager of Nassau Pawn, told Tribune Business: "The amount of stolen property that has actually come into my shop has decreased. The crime is still up there. At least once a week I have someone come in here saying that their stuff was stolen, and to be on the look out for it. The amount of items that we actually find out were stolen has certainly diminished. "Obviously, if you were to walk in my shop now, I have no way of knowing if an item was stolen or not, and that's why they put the declaration in place. If someone walks in the store and says that the item they are selling is in fact their item, and we find out that it's not, they do two years just for saying that and signing that piece of paper. I think that kind of puts a little fear in people. They need to have some big punishments to make people think twice." The Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 2011, introduced last year, sets out operational guidelines and regulations for pawn brokers, 'cash for gold' operators and scrap metal dealers. The legislation came in amid rising incidents of armed robbery and theft said to be linked to such operations. Mr Doti yesterday said the new regulations have not impacted his operation, as his business was already operating under self-imposed regulations prior to the Bill coming into effect. "Nothing changed for me. I still do the things that I do. We didn't have to make any change," he said. The Pawnbrokers and Second-Hand Dealers Act 2011imposes upon a business owner or dealers the duty and responsibility to verify the identity of customers, maintain records and keep certain items in an unaltered state for specified periods. The Bill also empowers a police officer, acting on reasonable suspicion, to enter a dealer's premises and request the production of all articles in possession of that dealer for inspection, and request the production of copies of records required to be kept by the dealer.