Police urge people to sign up to registration website

10:38am Wednesday 25th June 2008

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POLICE in York are using a new weapon to combat theft.

Officers are encouraging residents to sign up to the "immobilise" system - which is launched in the city on Monday.

People can register any of their belongings which have serial numbers - such as mobile phones, power tools and tagged bikes - at www.immobilise.com to make it easier for police to track down their rightful owners if they are stolen.

The same system is already working successfully in other parts of the country and is being launched here as part of the Feeling And Being Safe In York campaign.

Sergeant Rick Ball, of York Police, said: "North Yorkshire Police and Safer York Partnership are launching this crime prevention initiative based upon www.immobilise.com, a secure web-based property registration site. When property is lost or stolen and comes into police possession, we are then able to check Immobilise by using the National Mobile Property Register (NMPR) and, if it is registered, get the property back to its owner.

"The system is based on serial numbers.

"Over the course of the summer the mobile police station will be set up in different locations around the city and the public invited to register items such as sat-navs, iPods, mobile phones, lap-top computers and power tools.

"Alternatively you can go on to the website and register free of charge."

The mobile police station will be in Strensall on July 1 and at Lime Tree Avenue in New Earswick on July 2. Further dates and locations are also being planned, with lots more in the pipeline. Nationally, there are already about 22 million items of property registered with the Immobilise website, by about 15 million people.

Sgt Ball said any bikes which have been tagged by police in the city have already been added to the database.

He said: "We have about 5,800 tagged bikes which have been transferred automatically on to the Immobilise database.

"So when police officers check bikes they will be asking for NMPR checks with the control room. It will be like checking vehicles on the Police National Computer, only for bikes."

He said officers from the safer neighbourhoods teams would be promoting the system to residents and handing out leaflets about it to encourage them to sign up.

"If something is lost or stolen we hope we will now have a much better chance of returning it to someone once it comes into our possession," he added.