A NEW WEBSITE has launched that aims to reunite owners with their stolen property through a search function that allows them to see if their items have been put up for sale.
Founders of TheftFinders.ie hope that the online database will also prevent people from unknowingly buying stolen goods online.
Items on the site include vehicles, household items, bikes, farm machinery, tools, jewellery, construction equipment, farm animals, pets, trailers, sports and musical equipment, among other items.
How it works
Members of the public are expected to register, report and locate stolen or lost property, or register, locate and claim their recovered goods for free. To log an item, you need a serial number, hallmark, distinguishing markings, or images of the property.
If items are stolen, details of the stolen items can be transferred to the stolen section by clicking a button. Until an item is reported as stolen, it stays hidden from public view.
A fee of €1 per item logged applies for the asset management facility.
If a member of the public spots something for sale which they suspect is stolen property and matches the description of an item on the site, they can report it to the owner by pressing the Report as Seen button.
This would, in theory, notify the owner of the location of their property.
Theft in Ireland
The website’s founder Ivan Sheridan set up the site after a close friend’s farm and business in Kilkenny were robbed within weeks of one another.
He had put distinguishing markings on some of the farm machinery, much of which was recovered after it was spotted for sale online. He hadn’t been quite so diligent where the business was concerned and nothing taken in that break-in was ever found.
Unfortunately, one in four of us will be the victim of a theft or break-in over our lifetimes and seven out of every ten robberies, thefts or burglaries go unsolved and items are never recovered.
He said that when Gardaí find caches of stolen goods, the site could help return stolen property back to its rightful owner.
“Items such as jewellery, power tools, phones and other goods can be difficult to identify unless their owners have noted serial numbers, any distinct markings etc,” he said.
He said that the site would also prevent others from buying goods that were stolen.
“As the site develops, more and people are logging details, distinguishing marks, serial numbers and pictures of stolen goods, thus reducing the potential for those goods to be sold either online or at car boot sales and other events.”
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