WHEREAS it is recognized that property crime directly or indirectly affect more Ontarians than any other criminal offence, and
 
WHEREAS a study released by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police in June, 2006 into the psychological, emotional, and financial impact on victims of residential break-and-enters underscores the serious nature of property crimes from the victim’s perspective, and
 
WHEREAS residential break-and-enters often result in the loss of personal property, and
 
WHEREAS it is recognized that an indeterminable number of criminals continue to use the services of pawn shops and second-hand dealers to convert stolen goods into cash, and
 
WHEREAS the current Pawnbrokers Act was written in 1906 and is considered significantly outdated and relatively unenforceable by police officers in the Province of Ontario, and
 
WHEREAS in 1999 and again in 2002, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police provided the Government of Ontario with information to support the development of provincial legislation governing pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers, as well as the implementation of an automated data collection system to be used for the transfer of information about transactions occurring in these businesses to police services, and
 
WHEREAS both the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and the Attorney General have indicated their support for this initiative.
 
THEREFORE BE IT RSOLVED that the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police call upon the Government of Ontario to introduce legislation before the end of 2006 to regulate pawnbrokers and second-hand shops in order to replace the outdated Pawnbrokers Act, and
 
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED that the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police call on the Government of Ontario to legislate the implementation of an automated data collection system to be used for the transfer of information occurring in these businesses to police services.