Engrave It To Save It With LPD's Property Engraving Program

A basic rule in our house is "take care of your things," especially expensive things.  Not that we have a lot of expensive items, but I want to protect the ones we do have.  And if they get stolen, I want to be able to get them back.  Now, thanks to the efforts of the Livingston Police Department, there's a better chance of doing that.

Their Property Engraving Program involves marking and identifying your property to make it less desirable to criminals and easier to identify if it is stolen.  As Officer Joy Klapal explained, "Engraving makes it harder for someone to resell items because they contain information that links back to the original owner. Thieves would rather have something that is not marked in any way." It makes sense:  who wants to get caught with property which can easily be identified as belonging to someone else?  Unmarked property is also harder to re-sell than marked items.  And, marking property with a driver's license number assists with the recovery of property because that number can be quickly run by any police officer in the country and provides them with your information. 

The kit, which can be borrowed from the LPD, contains several things:  1)  an engraver  2)  a set of manufacturer instructions explaining how the tool works  3)  a set of instructions from the police explaning what property should be engraved, how and where to mark it, and how to keep an inventory of the engraved items 4)  stickers you can affix to your windows showing that your items are marked; these are useful because thieves who know property in one house is marked are more likely to move onto to another house 5)  a plastic template for those who feel they cannot engrave freehanded.

It took me about half an hour total to mark the small number of valuables we have.  The tool itself is easy to work - it's like scratching something with a pencil.  I did it freehand and it may not be elegant, but it's at least legible.  Truth be told, it took more time to assemble the items and document them than engrave them. 

According to several websites, including that for the Philadelphia Police Department, the most commonly stolen household items include:  TVs, electronics, kitchen appliances, computers, cameras, gaming systems, bicycles, and tools.    I chose not to mark some of our older stuff, and instead focussed on the newer stuff, especially the portable generator (a hot item to steal during last year's hurricane) and my kids' bikes.

I'm thinking even if the bikes and laptops aren't stolen, identifying them will come in handy when another child "accidentally" grabs a marked item from one of my kids.  When it comes down to a typical "that's mine - no, it's mine" confrontation, it'll be easier for my child to prove the item is theirs when they explain that there's a particular number engraved in the side of the piece. 

I could see this program being especially valuable to college kids.  Stuff often goes "missing" in dorms and this is a wonderful way to help insure that items get returned.  A parent could easily borrow the engraver over a weekend or during a break when a kid is home and have their property engraved by the time they return to school.   Plus, anyone with a child going to college in the fall should be borrowing an engraver over the summer to mark larger items their co-ed won't be lugging to and from home over breaks.

The initial loan time for an engraver is just one week but extensions are possible.  To learn more, contact The Community Policing Unit at (973) 992-3000 extension #3600 or email Officer Klapal at jklapal@livingstonnj.org.