The Hopkins County Fiscal Court is considering a measure to make pawning stolen property more difficult.
County Attorney Todd P’Pool proposed the plan; he says the ordinance would require area pawn shops to register for an online program called Leads Online and log all items they receive.
Local police would have the authority to search these records for lifted goods. Currently, shops outside of Madisonville city limits don’t have to comply.
“We’ve been involved in a number of cases where stolen property has turned up at pawn shops, and it’s important that if you’re going to be in that business that you understand you have to cooperate with law enforcement,” P’Pool said.
P’Pool says numerous counties across the state use a similar program. Nearby McCracken has comparable requirements, but they are mostly aimed toward gold and precious metal resellers.
County Attorney Michael Murphy says his county doesn’t pay for the program, though he is not sure. Calls to the program company Leads Online were not returned.
Kentucky state law sets minimum guidelines for pawn shops, but P’Pool says the ordinance is designed to fill gaps in the local government’s power.
The Hopkins Fiscal Court will review the proposal and may vote on it at a future meeting.
