A further look at crime patterns shows clearly that inner-city residents suffer most from the serious problem of people stealing other people's property. Many of them do not have insurance on their stolen items. We must address the underlying problem of drug addiction that causes so many burglaries and larcenies. At the same time, though, we must hold accountable those who persist in victimizing our neighborhoods by committing such crimes. Thumbprints maintained by Memphis pawnshops have been vital to the police department's ability to solve burglaries and to my office's ability to prosecute the offenders.
Thumbprints are the only way to ensure true identifications of people who pawn property.
About 25 percent of all burglaries that are solved in Memphis each year are the result of thumbprints maintained by pawnshops. A Memphis ordinance that requires pawnshops in the city to maintain thumbprints has come under attack as being outside the scope of what current state law allows. Memphis needs passage of the pending state legislation to clarify its right to retain this effective tool against property crime. Fourteen other states already authorize local governments to require pawnshops to take thumbprints from customers. Under the bill before the Tennessee legislature, when stolen property is recovered from a pawnshop, a court could require a defendant to compensate the store for its loss.