Police in Norwich are promoting the Immobilise National Property register to help them address the issue of victims of theft not being able to accurately describe what has been stolen. They hope the scheme will help catch thieves and reunite owners of stolen property with their personal possessions.

Between September 1 to December 1, 246 pedal cycles were reported stolen in the city along with 162 mobile phones as well as other equipment like Sat Navs and iPods.

Inspector Michelle Lillie, from the University and Eaton Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), said: “We find that the main problem is when people report items as stolen they have very little details about what the property is.”

The website, www.immobilise.com allows people to upload pictures and detail information about personal property in case it is stolen.

Police then link into it when they recover stolen goods.

Insp Lillie added: “Police do recover property however because of the limited description of lost or stolen property it is difficult to match it to a previous owner making the job of proving an offence that little bit more difficult.”

“We are urging the public to help by keeping a record of all personal equipment with a serial or identifiable number and use the Immobilise registration service.”

Serial numbers are needed for goods and to register your mobile phone, you need to know your 15 digit IMEI handset number which can be found by keying in *#06# on the keypad or on a sticker underneath the battery.

For further information contact the University and Eaton SNT on 0845 456 4567 or go to www.safernorfolk.co.uk

To read the original story go to: Norwich Evening News