Buying stolen property

Enock Chishiri Crime Watch
VERY often the price is tempting. You just cannot believe your luck. It is even lower than the manufacturer or producer price. Even at such times when you are short of money, you are tempted to borrow from the good neighbour with a promise to pay back by the end of day. After all the whole deal is tipped in your favour because you appear the winner at the end of the transaction. But wait until the wind starts blowing from the other direction. After the seller has gone, the next visitor is a police officer who tells you it was stolen and the recovery of the property is just that short painful ceremony.

Accompanied by the true owner who is often in possession of receipts and other documents confirming ownership, the officer simply advises you to handover the property. Unfortunately, the law obliges you to explain your possession of the property and you may have to accompany the officer to the police station to assist with investigations.

The above scenario is one of the many that are happening in our community. The reckless buying or accepting stolen property has been a cause for concern for some time now.

We all now know that household goods such as cell phones, cell phone chargers, laptops, decoders, televisions and other portable electrical gadgets are usually stolen from homes when residents are fast asleep after a day’s hard work. The same goes for goods that are part of vehicles i.e. car radios, car jacks, breakdown triangles, fire extinguishers etc. Butchery owners, food outlets and ordinary residents receive stock produce under circumstances that smack of a deliberate and close knitted conspiracy with cattle rustlers. Beef is delivered to these places at night.

Buying or receiving stolen property is one of the many other predisposing factors that directly relate to the occurrence of crime.
The existence of a ready market created by people who are into this practice is enough encouragement for criminals to pursue their activities.
It is, however, the general public that ends up being losers when stolen property is recovered from them because very often the thief is unable to pay back or compensate the buyer. The Criminal Law Codification and Reform act, makes it an offence for people who:-
Are found in possession of property that has recently been stolen and the person fails to give a satisfactory explanation for his or her possession.

At the time of receiving or taking property into his/her possession the person did not know that it was stolen but continued to keep the property after acquiring such knowledge.

In a number of such cases, the thief is not traceable leaving the buyer to face the law. The million dollar question is, are we always the innocent purchaser who was fooled into buying illegally acquired property? For the simple reason that there are often these tell tale signs that easily give thieves selling stolen property away which signs we often ignore, it follows that most people buy or receive stolen property knowing very well that it was stolen.

The following situations will tell you that this person is selling stolen property:-
The seller wants the transaction done at odd hours of the day or if not then it is done in the absence of other people who may be witnesses or raise alarm

The price is too good to be true. You just cannot believe your luck and you want the transaction concluded in the shortest of time before the seller changes his/her mind. Remember the thieve knows he is at risk as long as he is in possession of the property so he will sell at give away price just to relief himself of this burden.

Price negotiations take such great leaps downward. The seller easily budges to a downward negotiation. The price of a television being sold for $100-00 is suddenly reviewed down to $50-00. He has nothing to lose.

The seller is often jittery and is inclined to leave at the slightest hint of verification of his possession of the property.
Sometimes the seller approaches you selling an item he is not in possession of and promises to deliver it if the deal is sealed. Why do you want to buy something you have not laid your eyes on? This is done to shorten the period he moves around with the property because this often gives him/her away.

The person is a stranger to you. He is not from a particular company and is telling you a whole lot of stories that are out of this world about the need to sell the property. The stories cannot be verified and alleged circumstances are only known to him.

Do not therefore take the risk. Nothing worthwhile comes easily, so they say. Let us beat thieves at their own game. As responsible residents we can embark on a property recovering spree by holding on to that which is brought to our homes under the above cited circumstances. All you need to do is just to make the seller hold on a little while you go around the other side of the house not to collect money but to alert your neighbour or the police.

Alternatively, take the seller through an intensive question time, make as if you are about to close the door or walk around him and see if you will not see him take to his heels.

We save ourselves from possible prosecution by desisting from the habit of buying stolen property in the same manner we save a lot of property from being stolen when we frustrate activities of criminals who steal property for sale.

Inserted by ZRP Press and Public Relations Manicaland Province.