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Pawn shops finding ways around Syracuse laws

The city of Syracuse is asking Onondaga County to help crack down down on burglaries. Syracuse officials want to make it harder for burglars to sell stolen items to second hand shops throughout the county.

It's a problem the city thought it had solved last spring, when common councilors passed a pawn shop registration requirement that forced owners of second hand stores inside city limits to keep records on people who bring in merchandise.  Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner says police visit the shops to get information to match with crimes, to try and solve burglaries.  And she says it was working, until some of these second hand stores made their move.

"Pawn shops have opened up outside city limits and those reporting requirements are not in place, so people can take stolen goods presumably out of the city and sell them there," said Miner.

That's where the mayor wants help.  She's looking for a county-wide ordinance that would eliminate the current loophole, but making the requirements the same everywhere in the county.  Onondaga County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon is on board.

"We're going take a look at the city law.  We're going take a look at East Syracuse's ordinance, and we're going put together something that we think is fair to the business community, but at the same time stops and discourages some of the public safety issues we've been having in our community," he said.

McMahon says proposed legislation could be on the agenda by April.
 

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.