Online inventory system fights crime

Can you identify your valuable rings? A new resource on the Red Willow County sheriff's website -- www.rwcso.org -- can help with insurance inventories of such personal properties as rings. On the webpage, go to "Current Press Releases" and click on "Know Your Stuff® Home Inventory." (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Neb. -- If you can't identify your stolen property ... if you don't have a serial number, a make, a model, then it's very difficult for law enforcement officers to not only locate the item, but to return it to its rightful owner.

Law enforcement officers can put information on stolen items on a nation-wide law enforcement computer system. Red Willow County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Kotschwar said, "When officers enter a stolen item into a nationwide data base, if a check is run on that item anywhere in the United States, then an alert will pop up not only to that agency, but to the agency that entered the item as stolen. Then the two agencies can work together to not only return the property to its rightful owner but to prosecute those in possession of it."

Kotschwar strongly encourages homeowners to keep a current inventory of their personal possessions and property. "Walk through your house and video-tape each room," he said. "Keep records in a safety deposit box."

Another option is a secure online software service such as the one now available on the sheriff's website at www.rwcso.org.

"Know Your Stuff® -- Home Inventory," (under "Current Press Releases" on the sheriff's webpage), is the Insurance Information Institute's free online home inventory software. The "Know Your Stuff®" site walks a new user through the process to store inventory information.

"This is a 'dot-org,' which is more secure than a 'dot-com,'" Kotschwar said.

If information on a recently-stolen valuable ring had been stored somewhere by its owner, Kotschwar said, officers would have better luck tracking it down. "With limited information available," Kotschwar said, "it's hard to follow up on the crime."

Information stored on "Know Your Stuff®" can be used by officers as verification of actual ownership of an item, and it can lead to an item actually being returned to an owner.

Kotschwar recommends that homeowners -- and renters as well -- get into the habit at least once a year of pulling out their insurance policies and, if necessary, updating them with identification and information on new major purchases. Work with your insurance provider and "ensure that your insurance coverage is adequate," he said.

For more information on creating insurance inventories or on the sheriff's website, contact Deputy Kotschwar at the sheriff's office, (308) 345-1850.

The "Know Your Stuff® Home Inventory" site explains: The Know Your Stuff® - Home Inventory account creation wizard is an error-proof setup process for entering information about yourself, your location, and your insurance company.

This allows you to keep the information on hand and updated so that you can easily provide it to your insurance company should a disaster strike or a burglary occur.

Having this information prepared and stored remotely on secure servers ensures that nothing is overlooked when presenting your claim. Furthermore, your information will be accessible from any computer, in the event you cannot access your own.