RISSProp: What It Is and How Gold Buyers Report to It

Who runs it, when you have to use it, how to get set up, and what goes into every report.

A practical guide for pawn shops, gold buyers and secondhand dealers in the United States.

What RISSProp is

RISSProp is a property tracking system used by law enforcement to receive the transactions that pawn shops, precious metal buyers, scrap dealers and other secondhand businesses are required to report. Investigators search it when property is reported stolen, so a ring that was sold at a counter in one town can be found by a detective working the burglary in another.

It belongs to the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS), a national network that helps law enforcement agencies share information across city, county and state lines. RISSProp itself was developed by NESPIN, the New England State Police Information Network, which is one of the regional RISS centers and the team that registers dealers.

Do you have to use it?

Only if your agency tells you to. Secondhand dealer reporting is regulated locally, and each sheriff's office or police department chooses how it wants to receive reports:

• RISSProp, uploaded electronically.
• LeadsOnline, a private reporting service many departments subscribe to.
• Email, fax or paper forms sent directly to the department.

Some agencies require more than one. If you are unsure, call the detective or records unit that handles pawn and secondhand dealer licensing and ask which system they want. Do not start uploading to RISSProp on your own initiative: if your agency does not use it, nobody there will see the reports, and you will still be out of compliance.

RISSProp vs. LeadsOnline

For a broader overview of both systems, deadlines and hold periods, see police reporting for gold buyers and pawn shops.

How to get set up

1. Confirm with your agency. Make sure your sheriff or police department receives reports through RISSProp, and ask about their deadline and whether they want photos.
2. Request a Client ID. The RISSProp team at NESPIN issues one per store location. They will ask for your business name, the store address and phone number, the software you will report from, and confirmation that your local agency instructed you to use RISSProp.
3. Enter your shop information exactly. The store name, street address, city, state, ZIP and phone you configure appear on every report, so they should match your dealer licence.
4. Send a test, then go live. Confirm with your agency that your first reports arrived and look the way they expect before you rely on the setup day to day.

What each report contains

A RISSProp upload is a batch of purchase transactions together with your shop's details. Each transaction typically includes:

• Shop information. Store name, address and phone.
• Seller identification. Name, address, date of birth and the type, number and issuing state of the photo ID.
• Seller description, when your agency asks for it: height, weight, sex, race, eye and hair colour.
• Transaction details. Date, time, ticket number and amount paid.
• Items. What each piece is, metal and karat, weight, and any serial numbers, engravings or distinguishing marks.
• Images, if required: a photo of the seller, of the ID, and of the items.

Mistakes that cause problems

Reporting to the wrong system

Uploading to RISSProp when your department reads LeadsOnline, or the other way round, means your reports exist but nobody responsible for your store sees them. Always start from what your agency told you.

Shop details that do not match your licence

If the address on your reports differs from the address on your dealer licence, your transactions can be hard to attribute to your store. Use the licensed address for each location.

Assuming every upload went through

Electronic reporting can fail quietly: an expired setting, a missing field, a dropped connection. Check periodically that your reports are being sent, and keep your own copy of every transaction so you can resend if needed.

Skipping photos your agency expects

Images are optional in some places and required in others. If your agency asks for them, send clear photos of each item on a plain background, with any marks or engravings visible.