COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County commissioners are considering changing county law to better track stolen items at coin dealerships and precious metal dealers, but some establishment owners are concerned such a standard could hurt business and have questionable success.

"If they were to pass that, we'd probably have to relook at it and see if it's still a viable business for us," said Kevin Mitchell, owner of Coinuts in Coeur d'Alene.

The sheriff's department is proposing commissioners amend the county's Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers ordinance to include coin dealers and precious metal dealers.

Under current law, pawn shops and secondhand dealers must record personal information about individuals selling them items, plus details about what they're selling, and provide the information for a local database that law enforcement monitors for stolen items.

"When the ordinance went into place, we were able to track that, to track people's property," said Maj. Ben Wolfinger, adding that the ordinance has existed since the mid-80s. "Say you had a gun stolen, and the thief took it to the pawn shop to sell it. It would come up as stolen property, we'd know where it's at, who pawned it and we could go after that person."

But coin dealers and precious metal dealers aren't required to enter any information in the database, said Wolfinger.

A fact that law enforcement found frustrating during the rash of burglaries this past fall, he said, when some items were recovered at such establishments.

"There's no way to track that," Wolfinger said. "This is something that came to our attention this year, and we're going to fix it."

Under the proposed amendment, coin and precious metal dealers would have to maintain records of each loan, purchase or other transaction. That would include taking down a seller's name, age, address, birth date, Social Security number or driver's license number, and general description. Dealers would also note the type of ID presented and payment made, and would provide a description of the property bought or received in pledge.

Like pawn shops, they would also have to withhold selling items for 30 days. Dealers would return any items determined as stolen to the owners, who would not be liable for the dealers' payments.

"I think it'll help our investigators track stolen property," Wolfinger said.

But some coin dealers are dubious.

It's possible folks would be deterred from selling items, Mitchell said, if they had to provide personal information for a database.

"It's the biggest reason to stay away from pawn shops, is dealing with all those issues," he said. "Honest people are honest people, but not everyone wants their information put everywhere. It may force them to go outside the county and sell somewhere else."

Another disadvantage, he noted, is if police recover a stolen item his shop has already paid for, the shop isn't compensated for its loss.

"The only recompense we have is to sue the guy who sold it to us," Mitchell said, adding that the shop has only had such experiences a few times over its 8 years. "Most of the time it's a druggie or a thief going to jail anyway."

Values of precious metals could also drop during the holding period, he added, costing dealers profit on metal they purchased.

"Some shops just may stop buying that stuff and say 'We're not going to do it,' if it's too much of a hassle," he said.

David Floyd, owner of DJ's Coins, said he can see database entries helping with stolen jewelry, but not coins.

"You can't really trace a coin," Floyd said. "It would be like tracking a $20 bill that goes into the bank."

Asking for sellers' personal information could have a big impact on business, he added, by scaring off customers.

"Sure it bugs me," he said. "A lot of people like to keep their stuff private."

Jerry Lambert, owner of the Pawn Shop on Kathleen Avenue in Coeur d'Alene, said he thinks coin dealers should be subject to the same regulations as pawn shops, though.

"It's a good system with the pawn shops now. We get very little stolen merchandise because of the system they have in place," Lambert said. "I think a lot of your thieves, they go to places where there's no ID required."

Commissioners removed the proposal from their weekly meeting on Tuesday so they could first meet with sheriff's department officials for more information.

The matter will be discussed at a later weekly meeting, said Commissioner Jai Nelson.

"We need to hear why are we doing this, what are the consequences?" Nelson said.

Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene have similar laws requiring pawn stores to report information such as the seller, item and date on purchases.

Stores can enter the information into a regional database or fill out a form.

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, are exploring such statewide legislation.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said the commissioners will be open to public testimony if there are many concerned citizens.

"We just had a lot of thefts going around," Tondee said. "I don't understand why there would be issues, if that's something that would help us."