The Cambridge Police Department recommends that all residents participate in Operation ID . All participants will be given the use of an engraver to mark all items of value in their home, such as TV's, stereos, cameras etc. These engravers are available at all branches of the Cambridge Public Library. The owner will mark the items with their drivers license number or identification card number, and state of issue. Marked items are worthless to criminals as their value is greatly decreased.
Police can track the rightful owner of items and therefore link that item to a burglary.
Criminals do not want to be in possession of items that can be proved stolen. It has been proven to be effective in deterring burglary and in returning recovered property to the owner. Residents will then fill out a form with all items marked which will be mailed to the Cambridge Police Department.