Stolen items database goes live
Swift-Find.com, the UK-based on-line registry of new, used and stolen valuables, has announced the completion of its integration with the IT systems in North Wales.
Swift-Find.com, the UK-based on-line registry of new, used and stolen valuables, has announced the completion of its integration with the IT systems in North Wales.
This is the first time a UK police force has integrated with a national database to automatically distribute information about all items reported stolen. Swift-Find already receives data from 12 police forces across the UK. Swift-Find also receives information about stolen items from 28 major data sources including Interpol and several government agencies, but the North Wales Police integration marks Swift-Finds first automatic hourly transfer of data from a UK police force.
Detective Superintendent Peter Chalinor of North Wales Police said: By automating the distribution of stolen valuables information throughout the country to the other participating police forces as well as the pawnbrokers and auction houses, we expect to improve our rate of recovery and return while reducing the time and cost spent on administrative tasks.
Swift-Find calculates that by transferring the information automatically, instead of manually which is the current practice, each participating force could save significant man hours per month in administrative tasks. Before Swift-Find, police forces manually distributed stolen property information 24-48 hours after the event. Swift-Find users can report items stolen, and thus distribute the information globally within seconds of the event. Swift-Find services are free for law enforcement organisations.
Benny Arbel, CEO of Swift-Find, said: The Swift-Find database is already the largest international online database of stolen property and is quickly becoming the standard for checking the likely integrity and authenticity of valuables. We urge dealers, auctioneers, collectors and pawnbrokers who previously had little way of confirming an items ownership before purchase, to search the Swift-Find database of lost and stolen valuables before purchase.
To encourage the North Wales community to maintain detailed inventories of their valuables in case of theft, Swift-Find and North Wales Police will issue tips and guidelines within the community explaining how to protect their valuables and how to avoid stolen goods.
