Greenwood police wants the owners of pawn shops and second-hand dealerships in the city to start paying for their own criminal background checks every five years, but the city council wants it to be done more often.
Council members voted unanimously Monday night to change the already drafted ordinance to require the owners of pawn shops and second-hand dealerships to submit fingerprints and criminal history checks every year.
“I’d say the more often the better,” council member David Hopper said.
Currently, owners of pawn shops and second-hand dealerships have to renew their license annually and pay a $25 fee to the city to process it. But they do not have to provide a fingerprint criminal history. The controller’s office forwards license applications and renewals to the Greenwood Police Department, which determines whether to check an applicant’s criminal history and, if so, pays for it.
This change would make sure that all second-hand dealers, including chain stores such as Half-Price Books and Game Stop, go through the same process, and would reduce the time and expense it takes Greenwood police to process applications.
If the city council decides to pass this at its next meeting Dec. 17, Greenwood police will require that those second-hand dealers use the same vendor Indiana State Police uses for background checks, detective Jay Arnold said.
The council also made it so that everyone dubbed a manager or supervisor must submit fingerprint criminal histories as well, not just the owners.
Oftentimes, owners do not live in the area, council member and former Greenwood police chief Bob Dine said Monday night.
“What kind of cost did we just impose on the owners of these businesses by making that change?” council member Bruce Armstrong asked council members.
The cost of a fingerprint criminal history is about $40, according to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.
“If we’re just doing the owners, what’s the point of even having this ordinance?” council member Dave Lekse asked. “Like Mr. Dine said, half the time these people don’t even live here.”
Greenwood police proposed this change to the original city rule, which took effect in 2014, to help them keep track of any criminal activity involving pawn shops and second-hand dealers.
It would allow them to know right away if business owners, as well as their managers and supervisors, have been charged with theft, burglary or other related crimes in the past.
“A lot of criminals will, when they steal things, take them to pawn shops and then use the money they get from those sales in their own criminal enterprises,” Arnold said.
“The purpose of this is it’s a checks and balances. Each person is going to be required to submit these background checks so they don’t think they can get away with trying to buy something that they know is illegal without obtaining the proper records. A criminal history will show us if that person has a history of doing such things. Basically, is this person going to be honest when conducting their business?”
