Two months ago I would have told you mine are excellent. Three drug addicts broke into our home and convinced me my records were terrible. I cannot go into major details because this will be going to trial, but I can tell you about the lessons I learned. My records were terrible, but the police were pleased with them because my records were 90% better than most they see. Here are the problems I found with my records:
1) My primary records storage was on my computer. I did have an electronic back up, but no paper back up. Had my computer been stolen or damaged I would not have been able to immediately provide serial numbers and descriptions to the police.
2) My electronic records were not as infallible as I thought. In at least one instance, a serial number had not been saved or had been inadvertently deleted. I believe this was a computer issue because 5 weeks after the theft, my computer mother board died (other unusual items had also occurred with the computer).
3) My photos were woefully inadequate. I now have a minimum of 4 close up photos of each firearm (left side, right side, top, and bottom). I also have added photos of any unique identifying marks. These photos are stored both electronically and as hard copies.
4) My lack of hard copy records and copies to provide the police slowed their investigation down by 24 hours. This does not seem like much, but I soon discovered that the faster you get the information out to other police agencies the faster you get action. I now have 3 hard copies. One for my records, one to provide to the police immediately, and a 3rd copy stored in my safety deposit box. My intention is to update the copy in my safety deposit box annually at tax time.
5) Some of my paper records (sales recipes/invoices) were stored very near my firearms. In my case some of the receipts were damaged/destroyed because the thieves knocked over and broke a bottle of cleaning solvent.
6) Several of my pistols were stolen without the magazines. Inadvertently this aided the police in locating them. I now store all of my semi-autos without magazines and I keep all the magazines locked in a separate cabinet.
7) I had no surveillance system. I have since added a stand-alone camera with a 30 day memory card (it overwrites on day 31). For less than $200, I could have had pictures of the thieves in the act.
My tale of woe has a reasonably happy ending. The thieves are in jail and 75% of my stolen property is in police evidence lockers, but the police tell me this is not the norm. They were very successful in recovering my property because I had mediocre records. If I had better records and would have had them available immediately they may have been able to have even greater success.
I sincerely hope you never need any of this information, but please be a better record keeper than I was. Make sure you can help the police help you if the need arises.
1) My primary records storage was on my computer. I did have an electronic back up, but no paper back up. Had my computer been stolen or damaged I would not have been able to immediately provide serial numbers and descriptions to the police.
2) My electronic records were not as infallible as I thought. In at least one instance, a serial number had not been saved or had been inadvertently deleted. I believe this was a computer issue because 5 weeks after the theft, my computer mother board died (other unusual items had also occurred with the computer).
3) My photos were woefully inadequate. I now have a minimum of 4 close up photos of each firearm (left side, right side, top, and bottom). I also have added photos of any unique identifying marks. These photos are stored both electronically and as hard copies.
4) My lack of hard copy records and copies to provide the police slowed their investigation down by 24 hours. This does not seem like much, but I soon discovered that the faster you get the information out to other police agencies the faster you get action. I now have 3 hard copies. One for my records, one to provide to the police immediately, and a 3rd copy stored in my safety deposit box. My intention is to update the copy in my safety deposit box annually at tax time.
5) Some of my paper records (sales recipes/invoices) were stored very near my firearms. In my case some of the receipts were damaged/destroyed because the thieves knocked over and broke a bottle of cleaning solvent.
6) Several of my pistols were stolen without the magazines. Inadvertently this aided the police in locating them. I now store all of my semi-autos without magazines and I keep all the magazines locked in a separate cabinet.
7) I had no surveillance system. I have since added a stand-alone camera with a 30 day memory card (it overwrites on day 31). For less than $200, I could have had pictures of the thieves in the act.
My tale of woe has a reasonably happy ending. The thieves are in jail and 75% of my stolen property is in police evidence lockers, but the police tell me this is not the norm. They were very successful in recovering my property because I had mediocre records. If I had better records and would have had them available immediately they may have been able to have even greater success.
I sincerely hope you never need any of this information, but please be a better record keeper than I was. Make sure you can help the police help you if the need arises.
