Police: Take a Home Inventory in the New Year

As 2012 kicks off, local police are encouraging Mount Vernon area residents to take inventory of their valuables.

Property theft is the most prevalent crime in Fairfax County, and the Mount Vernon District Police Station has launched a new campaign to encourage homeowners to take inventory of their homes.

Taking a home inventory is a crucial step in asset protection, said Mount Vernon District Crime Prevention Officer Greg Kotteman in an email sent to homeowners’ associations. This personal document outlines the item’s purchase price, descriptions, estimated current value, and most importantly, an item’s unique serial number, which may be the only way to identify a stolen item and return it to its owner.

This spreadsheet provides police with accurate information on the missing item in case of theft. The spreadsheet allows for the item to be entered into the National Crime Information Center as stolen property, explained Kotteman. Once the property is in the database, if the property is discovered in the database by a police officer, it will alert the officer to the item’s status as a stolen item.

“Our officers frequently recover what we believe to be stolen property from criminal suspects.  However, if we are unable to match the specific items to a stolen property report, it is difficult to place criminal charges or return the property to its owner,” explained Kotteman.

The department hopes that distributing the spreadsheet to the community and educating residents about keeping inventory of their big-ticket items will help police close more cases in the upcoming year, said Lieutenant Michael Wall.

“If more of our residents maintain a home inventory, we will hopefully be able to conclusively identify more stolen property, which will allow us to make arrests and return the property to its owners,” explained Wall in an email to Patch.

Kotteman advises residents to save the spreadsheet on a flash drive, and making a couple of hard copies to store in secure locations such as a fire safe.

To request a copy of the spreadsheet in Excel format, please email MPO Kotteman.