SOUTH RIVER — After months of working with jewelry store owners in town and revising a proposed new law, the Borough Council unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance designed to help police recover stolen jewelry.
Mayor Raymond T. Eppinger said at the June 22 council meeting that the passing of the ordinance has been a “long time coming.”
“We really tried to work with the merchants on their concerns, and they have met on several occasions with the police department,” he said.
Acting Police Chief John Bouthillette said the new ordinance gives police a chance to find and recover stolen jewelry that is sold afterward.
He said that without the ordinance, the police department had a difficult time recovering priceless jewelry items such as high school graduation rings or a ring handed down, including a grandmother’s ring. The department’s investigative unit recommended the borough look into implementing the ordinance at the end of last year, he said.
“They had worked with other towns [that were] recovering stolen jewelry and making arrests,” Bouthillette said. “The other towns, specifically East Brunswick, had an ordinance in place and we didn’t.”
The purpose of the ordinance, which is called “Regulations for the Purchasing of Gold, Silver, and Other Precious Metals and Gems,” is to protect the public with regard to the ever-increasing sales of gold, silver, and other precious metals and gems, and to ensure that such purchases are bona fide and legal and that the seller is the lawful owner of the jewelry items.
In order for a person or business to sell jewelry, they must first obtain a license from the borough clerk’s office.
Bouthillette said his department worked with jewelry store owners on some of the wording that is included in the restrictions section of the ordinance.
“Their biggest concern was the volatility of the market, and that is what we addressed,” he said.
For example, in an initial draft of the ordinance, the wording required that the licensee retain any articles or goods in the form in which they were purchased for a period of 72 hours. After talking with owners, the period of 72 hours was changed to a period of 48 hours.
The other wording that was tweaked was to have no licensee purchase any item from any person under the age of 18. The person selling the items must be 18 years old or older.