HUMBERSIDE Police have joined forces with shops across Hull in a bid to tackle stolen goods being sold this Christmas.
A number of secondhand stores across the city, including Cash Converters, Cash Generator and CEX are taking part in a pilot scheme launched by police this week.
Stores are agreeing to sign up to a voluntary code of practice, which will see them checking any item offered to them for sale against a national database, CheckMEND, which lists lost and stolen goods.
Sergeant Rob Danby, of the Riverside neighbourhood policing team, said: "A lot of people don't realise that if you buy a stolen phone, iPad or laptop, that you could be charged with handling stolen goods or, at the very least, have the property taken from you, even if you don't know it's stolen.
"With this new scheme, shoppers buying at stores bearing our posters can buy with confidence knowing the goods have been checked by the store to ensure they have not been registered lost or stolen by the police or members of the public.
"Hopefully, by working in this way, we will send a strong message to those handling stolen goods that they will be identified and brought to justice and consequently help reduce incidents of property being stolen in the first place."
CheckMEND works with the national database Immobilise, insurance companies, credit agreements and police systems to log goods with an identifiable mark including phones, iPads, bikes and laptops that are reported lost or stolen.
Each search on the CheckMEND site generates a unique certificate number. This can be issued to a potential buyer to prove that, at the time of purchase, the item was not reported lost or stolen and no adverse information was recorded against it.
When an item is checked, the shop is issued a certificate. Anyone who purchases the item is issued with the certificate number so they can prove it was not registered as being lost or stolen.
As part of the scheme, all the stores who have agreed to the voluntary code will be given a poster to show they are helping to tackle the stolen goods market.
It is hoped the posters will act as a deterrent to people who try to use the stores to sell on stolen goods.
If the pilot scheme is deemed a success, police plan to roll it out to other secondhand shops across Hull.
The scheme, part of Humberside Police's Operation Yuletide to tackle crime around Christmas, was launched on Sunday in the city centre.
Shoppers were able to join Immobilise, which allows people to set up an account to register their valuable items, and speak to representatives from the Riverside policing team about protecting their property.
Sgt Danby said: "The public also have a role to play and are encouraged to support the police by registering their property for free on the Immobilise website.
"This really helps the police in bringing offenders to justice for offences and assists officers in reuniting any property that has been lost or stolen."
Anyone with information about stolen goods should call Humberside Police on 101.
