The Leander Police Department could have a higher chance of finding stolen items thanks to a new ordinance requiring electronic cooperation with local pawnshops. Currently only one pawnshop­—Texas Pawn and Jewelry on US 183—is located within the city limits of Leander. But as the city continues to grow in population, Leander Police Chief Greg Minton said the growth will also bring more challenges, such as an increase in theft. Leander City Council unanimously approved an ordinance April 20 that would require pawnbrokers within the city to electronically file all records of all sales and pawn transactions into an internet subscription service. The business would have to upload the information from its records by the end of each business week, according to the ordinance. Per the previous ordinance, pawnshops were only required to keep written records of the transactions. “Right now if a detective is to look for an item, he has to drive to every pawn shop we may have in town,” Minton told council members. “From there, he may have to grab a stack of pawn tickets and go through each and every one. There could be 1,000 in there, depending on how many items came through there.” The department participates in LeadsOnline, a state and nationwide database that tracks transactions. By requiring electronic records, Minton said the police department will be able to identify and track stolen property accepted by pawnshops locally and across the country. Leander agreed to pay $1,200 annually to access the system, and Minton said there is no cost for local pawnshops to participate in the service—aside from the cost to have computer and internet access to upload the files. The ordinance would also shorten the period that pawnshops have to hold onto property that has been pawned or sold. Minton said the police department worked closely with the owner of Texas Pawn and Jewelry on the new ordinance, and any new pawnshop coming into the area would have to comply. “We would for all of the love all shops to do this,” he said. “As we grow larger, as we have two and three and four and five and six [shops], instead of our detectives having to drive to six different places to go look for something, they can go to one place to find the property that was lost: their office.”