16-715. Report of property pledged or purchased; required holding period for precious metal purchased; report not open to public inspection. (a) On or before Tuesday of each week, or at more frequent intervals if required by city ordinance or county resolution, every pawnbroker or precious metal dealer shall report the description of all property received in pledge or purchased as a pawnbroker or precious metal dealer during the preceding calendar week, in whatever quantity received. Such report shall include all property purchased as secondhand merchandise at wholesale, secondhand merchandise taken in for sale or possessed on consignment for sale and secondhand merchandise taken in trade. No such report need be made concerning property or merchandise acquired from another pawnbroker or precious metal dealer licensed in this state in a transaction involving the purchase or other acquisition from the other pawnbroker or precious metal dealer of the other pawnbroker's or dealer's stock in trade, or a substantial part thereof in bulk, where the other pawnbroker has made the reports required by this section with respect to such property or merchandise.

(b) If a transaction required to be reported under this section takes place within the territorial limits of a city of the first or second class, the report shall be submitted to the chief of police of the city. If the transaction takes place outside the territorial limits of any such city, the report shall be submitted to the sheriff of the county in which the transaction takes place.

(c) All reports made pursuant to this section shall comply with and be submitted in accordance with the terms of any applicable city ordinances or county resolutions requiring such reporting.

(d) Every precious metal dealer shall retain in the dealer's possession for a period of 10 days all precious metal purchased as a precious metal dealer, and such metal shall remain in the condition in which it was purchased. The ten-day period shall commence on the date that the appropriate police chief or sheriff receives the report of its acquisition in compliance with this section. If the police chief or sheriff has probable cause to believe that any precious metal reported by a dealer has been stolen, the police chief or sheriff may give written notice to the dealer to retain such metal for an additional period of 15 days. Upon such notice, the dealer shall retain such metal in an unaltered condition for the additional fifteen-day period unless the police chief or sheriff notifies the dealer in writing that the waiting period is terminated at an earlier time.

(e) Reports made pursuant to this section shall be available for inspection only by law enforcement officers and county and district attorneys and their employees, for law enforcement purposes.

History: L. 1972, ch. 51, § 10; L. 1981, ch. 91, § 5; July 1.