ALBERTVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
If your Christmas gifts were stolen, would you be able to identify them?
Certainly no one wants their Christmas presents stolen, but it can happen. And if it does, police say recovering those items first starts with you.
Finding stolen merchandise is common.
Many times people report a burglary and then do not have identifying numbers or features to give to police to help them track down their merchandise.
Albertville Assistant Police Chief Jamie Smith said people should take the time to inventory their home and write down serial numbers of anything of value in the home. That way when it's stolen, numbers can be given to police to see if they match numbers in a nationwide database.
However, if your merchandise does not have a serial number, engrave the item.
"The last four digits of your social security number, your driver's license number, your last name, put some kind of identifying feature on there so if a police officer does recover it, it can be easily identified," Smith said.
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If your merchandise does not have a serial number, engrave the item.
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