COUNCIL TABLES PAWNSHOP MEASURE

The Cape Girardeau City Council Wednesday tabled a measure that would impose stringent identification requirements on people who sell merchandise to pawnshops and jewelry stores.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department had asked the council amend the city's "pawnbrokers" ordinance to strengthen the department's ability to investigate thefts and recover stolen property.

But council members questioned whether the restrictions were necessary and said they feared the measure would burden the affected retail merchants. The council tabled the measure after Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd asked that his department "work on the ordinance a little more."

The proposed law essentially would require licensed pawnbrokers and any merchant who deals in used precious metals and gems to: require customers to present a photograph identification card; maintain a register of the information from the identification card; and record a thumb print of the individual pawning merchandise.

But Councilman Al Spradling III questioned the city law's constitutionality and whether it violates customers' "right of privacy."

Lt. John Brown of the police department said he didn't know of instances where similar laws in other communities were challenged in court. He said St. Louis has had such a law for 10 to 15 years. Brown said that law has been effective in locating stolen goods and identifying criminals.

Brown said instances of criminals funneling stolen goods through pawnshops in Cape Girardeau appear to be on the rise, particularly as other area cities enact stricter pawnbroker ordinances.

"We've done interviews in the past few weeks and talked to a number of police departments," he said. "Carbondale in particular complained to me about our ordinance.

"They had recently strengthened their ordinance and it was felt they were funneling into Cape Girardeau. Sikeston, definitely, felt that way," he said.

Brown said police know of at least one pawnshop in town where youths have been encouraged to bring in small, "untraceable" items such as radar detectors and sign fictitious names to the store's register.

"This is indicative of the kind of problem we're trying to address," he added.

But Spradling said he doubted the police department would be able to strictly enforce the ordinance. He also said the ordinance, regardless of how strict, wouldn't prevent criminals from simply taking stolen goods to another community.

"Obviously, anybody who wants to get around this ordinance will be able to," Spradling said.

"There are holes in the ordinance," said Brown. "But it's certainly a lot more than we have now, and we think it would be a deterrent."

Mayor Gene Rhodes said that the city law would only add to the bureaucratic paperwork that already overburden businessmen.

Jay Crosnoe, who owns Crosnoe Gold and Silver at 862 N. Kingshighway, spoke out against the measure. He also doubted whether the law would effectively deter criminal activity.

He said it would serve primarily to embarrass customers and deter sales.

"If one of you all come in with a broken necklace or ring, I have to take your fingerprint," Crosnoe told the council. "Would you want to be harassed like that?"

Customers often trade used gold for new jewelry to lower the price, Crosnoe said. Under the ordinance, they would also have to be fingerprinted.

"We have a hard enough time trying to sell things without harassing customers with this," he added.

Spradling said he could understand a stricter law as applied to pawnshops, but not people who deal in precious metals and jewelry.

"It's going to stymie sales of these items in the community," he said. "It's so broad and overbearing, that it's not going to be that effective. It's not good for business in our city."

Brown said that it wouldn't be fair to separate pawnbrokers from used jewelry dealers because the pawnshops also deal with used jewelry.

"If you single out pawnbrokers, you would put them out of the jewelry business," he said. "Out of fair trade, we needed to keep the other dealers in it."