Manchester Tightens Rules For Dealers In Scrap Metal, Second-Hand Items

Manchester Township has joined a growing list of communities in Ocean County that have tightened the rules for those who deal in second-hand goods as part of the effort to fight the rising tide of drug use in the county.

The Township Council on Monday night adopted a pair of ordinances -- one specifically for scrap metal dealers, one for those who deal in other second-hand items -- that require all of them to keep more detailed records in an electronic database that will be accessible to all police agencies in the county.

The ordinances require photo identification and a fingerprint from the person selling the items, as well as photos and detailed descriptions of the items sold. It increases the time they are required to hold the items for at least 10 days before reselling them or otherwise disposing of them, and the ordinances set out penalties for those who fail to comply with the law, including suspension of their right to operate as second-hand dealers.

The goal of the new ordinances is to cut off the avenues that drug users have to obtain quick cash, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato has said. The changes -- particularly the requirement for participation in the electronic database, which will enable police officers to locate stolen items more quickly, reuniting them with their owners and helping them to find the thieves.

Coronato has said the Regional Automated Property Information Database -- RAPID for short -- is already in use in Maryland and Delaware, and in several towns in New Jersey. As more towns participate, the places thieves will be able to illicitly sell goods will evaporate. The hope is that the inability to turn stolen goods into quick cash will have an impact on the drug trade.