A new free online database of stolen and recovered property is reducing the risk of the public and farming community unwittingly buying stolen goods and is helping victims of theft locate their property much faster, its founder Ivan Sheridan says.

Newly launched www.theftfinders.ie allows members of the public to register, report and locate stolen or lost property, as well as register, locate and claim their recovered goods for free.

“Unfortunately, one in four of us will be the victim of a theft or break-in over our lifetimes and seven out of every 10 robberies, thefts or burglaries go unsolved and items are never recovered. We hope to buck that trend with TheftFinders.ie," Sheridan says.

“Our site is designed to help such victims of crime recover their stolen goods. It also assists the gardaí, who often struggle to get recovered property back to its rightful owner when they uncover large caches of stolen goods."

"Theftfinders.ie also reduces the chance of opportunist criminals selling stolen goods on to unsuspecting members of the public," he added.

“As the site develops, more and more people are logging details, distinguishing marks, serial numbers and pictures of stolen goods, thus reducing the potential for those goods to be sold either online or at car boot sales and other events."

“If a member of the public spots something for sale which they suspect is stolen property and it matches the description of an item on our site, they can report it to the owner by simply pressing the ‘Report as Seen’ button. This notifies the owner of the exact location of their property in real time."

People are logging details, distinguishing marks, serial numbers and pictures of stolen goods, thus reducing the potential for those goods to be sold

The site includes farm machinery, animals, tools, and trailers, etc, as well as other everyday items such as bikes, sports and musical equipment and more.

Theftfinders is hoping to make reporting and describing what is stolen a lot easier with a new feature on the site. The asset management section allows users create a portfolio of their own valuable goods. Details required for logging items on the online portal include serial numbers, hallmarks, distinguishing markings on property, images of the property, etc.

“The logging system is like a person’s very own safety deposit box and is set to be an invaluable resource for householders, but even more so for the construction, plant hire and farming communities which are often hounded by criminals,” Mr Sheridan added.

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