Full Notification

The police department is seeing an increase in the number of cell phones, tablets, and mp3 players reported stolen. We now have two atm type machines that will pay cash for used electronic devices in our city. This makes it all the more important that we have identifying information from stolen electronic devices as soon as possible.

Below is some helpful advise provided by Detective Andrew Johnson

HELP! My cell phone (or any other device) was stolen!
Tips for getting your stolen device back ASAP!!

It goes without saying, gathering the serial number, IMEI number and phone number associated with the device is crucial for expeditiously getting the stolen property back to the rightful owner. There are several things we encourage the public to do to assist law enforcement should their device be stolen.

1. You can call their service provider and retrieve their IMEI number.

2. You can go to the service provider, (Verizon, AT&T, etc) and ask an employee to look up his or her IMEI number.

3. You can connect to iTunes and retrieve their serial number.

a. By connecting to iTunes and pressing the Help option, then press the Ctrl key on your keyboard (Windows) then pressing 'About iTunes' and that should tell you the S/N and IMEI.

4. You can use a GPS application to locate the phone. (“Find my iPhone” for Apple devices, “Where’s My Droid?” for Android devices)

Many of these things can be done before a theft has occurred and can help law enforcement quickly get the device back. The use of GPS applications have helped law enforcement not only locate the device, but in some instances, the person who stole it! If you have a tablet or smart phone we strongly encourage installing a location app.