New law to govern second-hand cellphones

I do not think the Secondhand Goods Act goes far enough. There are only 3 large companies that deal in scrap metal in South Africa, and all the smaller operators sell to them.

The directors of the main operators should be made personally liable if any of their employees buys Telkom or Escom cables.

I recon that cable theft will stop virtually overnight under those conditions.

TAGGA - Searchable Stolen Goods Database

This article regarding the newly proposed Second Hand Goods Act of 2008 is exactly what prompted this service that I am about to explain. The fact that accountantability is now the onus of the dealer is excellent. It means that if we track stolen goods using a service such as TAGGA's Searchable Stolen Goods Database then we might have a shot maybe even just a small shot at being able to start curbing the crimes committed in order to make a quick buck out of petty and sometimes not so petty theft.

*It takes no genius to understand that crime is mostly associated with the need for money. Stealing people’s valuables is one of the more common methods to gain an income to support a habit, either for drugs or wanting!*

*The increase in crime by theft is only supported because there is someone out there who will trade illicit and cheap goods for money. When an article is stolen it is usual that those articles will be relocated some distance away from where the robbery took place. This avoids the possibility of the goods being reported within the local area.*

*TAGGA has established a database that records all stolen goods by serial number. Individuals register at http://tagga.co.za and record their details only with sufficient information to help with the recovery of the goods.*

*Firstly, a register is completed, with all serial numbers, descriptions and specific details. In the likely event any of those valuable items are stolen, the owner clicks on the list of the database and the items are instantly moved to a sector where any private person or company can search by serial number , but has no link into the privacy of the owner! *

*Anyone who presents a stolen article for sale does so at risk of being caught ‘red handed’ and the police are called to investigate the connection.*

*This means if everyone were to list their goods on the database, anything valuable that has been stolen could be located and returned to their rightful owners. Where the possibility of exchanging stolen goods for cash is reduced, the usefulness of stealing those valuables is diminished, with a good chance of arrest when an attempt is made to sell them.*

*TAGGA has integrated their database with Cash Converters outlets and will soon be integrated into Cash Crusaders outlets as well. The service will also be established at every police station nationwide. *

*Think …. It is possible that in the event of a violent crime, it is usual that articles stolen in the process will be offered for sale to a commercial entity. This could be a direct lead to those persons involved, with a high possibility of arrest!
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*When an item is offered for sale at Cash Converters for example. the buyer will search the database using the serial number on the item being offered for purchase. If it is marked as stolen in the TAGGA database then the buyer knows about it immediately and has a legal procedure which must be adhered to. this they already do when buying goods that they think may be stolen. They use profiling and a number of other methods to determine whether the seller is actually the rightful owner of the goods offered for sale. The TAGGA database search is a more efficient way for them to know whether the goods are actually stolen. The time and date is recorded that the search was performed. Most of the Cash Converter stores have video cameras which show time and date. This allows the seller to be identified at a later stage if for instance a violent crime was connected to the stolen item.
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*It the article being submitted for purchase to the cash conversion stores is not marked as stolen, the buyer is presented with a link to start an investigation. Part of the investigation is that the owner of the registered article is sent an email and SMS in which they are asked to verify if the goods are stolen or whether the goods are being legitimately offered for sale. In the case where a robbery has been commited the owner may not even yet be aware that the goods have been stolen from them.
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*Help to fight crime. Let us get rid of the reason that goods are taken from our homes. If there are no buyers ......
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