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The City of Fort Saskatchewan is considering implementing a new pawnshop bylaw to combat the sale of stolen property.
At last Tuesday’s (Sept. 20) committee of the whole meeting, the council was presented with a new bylaw that would require pawnshops to keep an online system of items that were bought and sold at each location. The system would be able to be accessed by local RCMP.
The bylaw might seem peculiar considering that there are no current pawnshops operating within the city.
Lee Hardman, the supervisor of municipal enforcement in Fort Saskatchewan, says the motivation to bring the bylaw to council came from discussions with other municipalities in the province.
“Our city is in a lot of different discussions with a lot of different municipalities across the province,” said Hardman. “We are seeing an uptick [of stolen goods being sold at pawnshops] in other places so we want to make sure we’re getting ahead of this and not being reactive when this does hit our city.”
As for the online system that the bylaw requires, Hardman says the infrastructure to do so already exists and shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to implement.
“We do have something called ‘business watch’ that law enforcement agencies are using,” said Hardman. “It’s an internet-based data management system that allows us to investigate and monitor real-time transactions posted by regulated businesses—whether that be pawnshops, second-hand stores, and scrap metal industries.”
The proposed fine for shops that go against the bylaw is set at $500 for first-time offenders.
The bylaw is expected to be brought before the council for another reading on Oct.11.