The Charlotte City Council passed an ordinance Monday night that now requires pawn shop owners to take fingerprints from customers. Starting January 1, 2007, the city's 22 pawn shop owners will have to fingerprint & ID people looking to sell goods.Police hope the practice will help crack down on crime and they will be better able to track down the source of stolen goods. Some argue that the new measure goes too far and may violate civil rights. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police pushed for the measure because they said many stolen items end up in pawn shops. They say showing an ID wasn't enough when it comes to convicting criminals selling stolen goods. When stolen items are discovered at a pawn shop, police say people often have given false information or they are unable to identify the person, which means they also aren’t able to prosecute. Police view fingerprinting as a fool-proof method to discourage criminals.
It is a controversial issue – on one hand, pawn shop owners are concerned the ordinance would hurt business, essentially treating everyone like criminals, while others argue that it would help to keep thieves out of their stores.
A number of pawn shops are already voluntarily fingerprinting their customers, and all pawn shops are required by law to take down a person’s information which is given to police. Officers said owners collecting prints on a voluntary basis have already allowed them to crack at least three cases. Under the new ordinance pawnbrokers who don't abide by the new rules face a $500 fine or up to 30 days in jail. - WCNC