I spend a while hitting pawn shops when a gun was stolen. I asked about the gun, I had pictures and told them I had reported it to the police. Everyone of them, without fail, said they were FFL licensed in order to buy and sell guns. Therefore they had to check to see if it was stolen, or it would show when they went to sell it.
I do not know if this is true for all pawn shops, or that all of them do things legally, but it was for the ones I stopped at.

Only morons knowingly pawn or sell stolen stuff to pawn shops because of the ID requirements for pawning and selling. Our family owned a small string of pawn shops for 25 years. Pawn shops are not what is represented of them in the past. They make a lot of money operating 100% legally. As FFLs, they are subject to FFL inspections. In Texas, pawned items (down to serial numbers and such) are going to be checked by law enforcement. Much of this is automated now, in fact (whereas back in the day, it was a manual process where pawn tickets were taken by the cops and manually entered into their system).

If the items were pawned, the pawnbroker legally cannot tell you anything about them. All loans are confidential per law. If you have a pawn ticket, that is another matter and you may redeem the item, but if it was stolen, chances are that you don't have the pawn ticket. If you suspect a given pawnshop has your item(s), you need to go to the police, but otherwise, you would have to wait for the loan to expire for for the purchased item(s) pass the police check and see the item(s) out on the shelf.

In short, it is a waste of time looking for items pawned to a pawn shop until after they are out for sale. Plus, if you tip off the pawnbroker about the item and said item comes in his/her store, he cannot legally make a loan on it or buy it given that he has been informed, by you, that it is stolen property. Knowingly making a loan on, or buying, stolen property is a criminal offense. So the slim chance that might have had for the item to end up in a pawn shop where it could be recovered through the police would be nullified.

In this day and age, it is something of a historical myth to expect items in a pawn shop to be stolen or to find stolen items. There is just too much paperwork to make the process viable to criminals. What few stolen items that do end up in pawn shops are usually pawned by people who first purchased them elsewhere (potentially unknowingly from the criminal) and thought they had legal ownership. In our stores, less than 1% of pawned items were identified as stolen, much less. More than likely, such items are going to be sold FTF or in other uncontrolled market situations such as flea markets and such, not that you are apt to see a high end rifle in a flea market, but you get the idea.

MY VERY expensive Luxus Model 11 was located in a pawn shop in Houston. The guy that pawned it had no criminal record but a pawn history a mile long. Most of what he pawned was tools and lawn equipment. How is the pawn shop going to determine if those tools were stolen? How did my stolen firearm, which was reported and "in the system", end up in a pawn shop?

I understand the point you're trying to make, but the fact is tons of morons do sell stolen property to pawn shops every single day. We still routinely find stolen property of all kinds in pawn shops. Criminals in general are basically a stupid group and when you throw dopers in the mix the sky's the limit. It's never a waste of time to search pawn shops.

How were these things "found" in a pawn shop?

Yep, people do pawn stolen stuff even though they are not criminals. More often than not, somebody made them a "deal" on the item. I am sure the guy who pawned the Lexus didn't have a legal title to car as that would have been caught at the DMV/tax office.

The pawn shop does not determine if items are stolen or not. They take them in pawn and then get informed by law enforcement if something they have taken in has been reported stolen.

However, if you take a picture around to pawn shops and show the pawn brokers you highly unique custom gun and tell them it is stolen, they are not apt to take that gun in pawn because they would know it was a stolen gun.



Most criminals are stupid. Some are not. As for "searching" pawnshops, sure you can go around looking in pawn shops and seeing what is out for sale and even asking if the pawnbroker has anything for sale that isn't out on display, but it would not be productive to tell him of your stolen highly unique custom gun.

How were these things "found" in a pawn shop?

Yep, people do pawn stolen stuff even though they are not criminals. More often than not, somebody made them a "deal" on the item. I am sure the guy who pawned the Lexus didn't have a legal title to car as that would have been caught at the DMV/tax office.

The pawn shop does not determine if items are stolen or not. They take them in pawn and then get informed by law enforcement if something they have taken in has been reported stolen.

However, if you take a picture around to pawn shops and show the pawn brokers you highly unique custom gun and tell them it is stolen, they are not apt to take that gun in pawn because they would know it was a stolen gun.



Some criminals are stupid. Many are not. As for "searching" pawnshops, sure you can go around looking in pawn shops and seeing what is out for sale and even asking if the pawnbroker has anything for sale that isn't out on display, but it would not be productive to tell him of your stolen highly unique custom gun.

Fixed it for you. Prisons are overcrowded for a reason. Lol.

That would not be because of crazy laws and diligent law enforcement would at all, huh?

Only the dumb and careless are in prisons and there are a lot, but there is a lot of unsolved crime as well. The OP is a classic example.

Never heard of it. So how was it "found"? You neglected that part.

They should outlaw pawn shops, they're nothing but a haven for stolen items, or a store that takes advantage of people in dire financial straights, often strung out on drugs.

"hey that's a really nice diamond ring... 1 carat, 14 K gold... yeah, we'll give you $35 for it"

There is a whole lot of ignorance in your statement. Very little in pawn shops is stolen. It is all checked through the police.

They do not take advantage of anybody as you claim. NOBODY has to accept what they offer and the people enter pawn shops on a completely voluntary basis. They are in the business of making what are considered to be high risk loans, plain and simple. As for the 1 carat 14k diamond ring and $35, it would have to be an awful piece of crap to offer that little on a pawn or a purchase.

Are the people in dire straits? Some are. Many are not. Of those that are, they are often the ones that have already destroyed their ability to get credit from banks or other lending institutions, have either worn out their welcome in borrowing from friends and family or have no friends and family, or simply otherwise have nowhere else to turn. If the pawn shops were not there, then what would the people do? You aren't going to help them.

A lot of people simply have a short term financial issue and need a little help carrying over until their next paycheck.

As for those dire straits people, I can tell you this. I watched a lot of people pawn their belongings and walk across the street to buy beer and cigarettes, or go into a bar.

Where pawn shops make a significant portion of their money is in the interest generated from loans, interest that is set by the state. Pawn shops want repeat business. They are not there to snatch up everybody's belongings.

However, if you think they should be outlawed, then please propose a method on how you would help out those people that you are talking about that would be wholly righteous in your view.

There is a whole lot of ignorance in your statement. Very little in pawn shops is stolen. It is all checked through the police.

They do not take advantage of anybody as you claim. NOBODY has to accept what they offer and the people enter pawn shops on a completely voluntary basis. They are in the business of making what are considered to be high risk loans, plain and simple. As for the 1 carat 14k diamond ring and $35, it would have to be an awful piece of crap to offer that little on a pawn or a purchase.

Are the people in dire straits? Some are. Many are not. Of those that are, they are often the ones that have already destroyed their ability to get credit from banks or other lending institutions, have either worn out their welcome in borrowing from friends and family or have no friends and family, or simply otherwise have nowhere else to turn. If the pawn shops were not there, then what would the people do? You aren't going to help them.

A lot of people simply have a short term financial issue and need a little help carrying over until their next paycheck.

As for those dire straits people, I can tell you this. I watched a lot of people pawn their belongings and walk across the street to buy beer and cigarettes, or go into a bar.

Where pawn shops make a significant portion of their money is in the interest generated from loans, interest that is set by the state. Pawn shops want repeat business. They are not there to snatch up everybody's belongings.

However, if you think they should be outlawed, then please propose a method on how you would help out those people that you are talking about that would be wholly righteous in your view.