Pawnbrokers step up fight against crime

15/03/2016

The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) took another step forward in the fight against crime – when it agreed to work closely with a service which reveals whether items have been stolen.

The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) took another step forward in the fight against crime – when it agreed to work closely with a service which reveals whether items have been stolen.

The NPA have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Recipero, the company that runs the CheckMEND history reporting service – enabling pawnbrokers across the UK to check that items being offered to them have not been reported lost or stolen.

National Pawnbrokers Association Chief Executive, Ray Perry, said:

“This is yet another step by pawnbrokers to help the police to crack down on crime”.

“We endorse the ‘Gold Standard’ whereby pawnbrokers check for ID and use UV lights to check for forensic property marking”.

“In London, we endorse the ‘Safe Seller’ scheme where pawnbrokers keep clear records so that criminals are kept away from stores”.

“In Scotland, we are working with the police via regular meetings of our Forum to crack down on crime”.

“Across England and Wales, we are working with the Home Office on measures to stamp out crime”.

“Now – with our agreement with Recipero – NPA members can use CheckMEND at competitive rates to check whether any items that enter their stores have been reported as stolen”.

“All this and more demonstrates clearly that 21st century pawnbroking has a zero tolerance approach towards crime”.

Les Gray, Operations Director from Recipero added:

“We are delighted to be working with the NPA and their members to help them trade safely through use of CheckMEND”.

“CheckMEND, as part of Recipero’s Crime Reduction Ecosystem provides risk mitigation to NPA members and by preventing the trade of stolen goods works to reduce the incentive to steal. Integration with the Police Mobile Property Register ensures that attempts to trade stolen property are alerted to police and insurers in real time”. 

 

-ENDS-

 

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Notes for Editors

 

  1. The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) was founded in 1892 and is the trade association representing pawnbrokers, from the large chains through to independents, in a £930m loan market growing year on year.  It is the authoritative voice of the pawnbroking industry in the UK.

 

The NPA stands for expertise, fairness and transparency, professionalism and excellence. All our members are bound by our rules and a customer code of conduct. Pawnbroking is part of the credit industry and is regulated alongside banks and other lenders by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

b)       Recipero is the leading data aggregator and innovator in acquisitive crime reduction worldwide. The    Recipero Crime Reduction Ecosystem works to protect consumers and businesses by providing timely intelligence and coordinated data sharing. Involved in millions of decision making processes and transactions every month, Recipero’s data and intelligence solutions are provided online, in real-time, and are used globally by police, insurers, recyclers, retailers and consumers. www.recipero.com