Precious Metals and Pawn Database

Under Rhode Island General Law, all pawnshops and other dealers of precious metals must provide the Office of the Attorney General with a complete and accurate description of all precious metals that are purchased or pawned, as well as a complete description on the seller.

The Rhode Island Precious Metals and Pawn Database (RIPPD) captures information from sale and pawn transaction records that by law are sent to the Office of Attorney General by precious metals dealers and pawn shops. This RIPPD database is a critical law enforcement tool that aids police in the recovery of stolen jewelry and other precious metals. The growth of access continues to increase as more out-of-state police departments learn about this valuable law enforcement tool, which enables investigators to search by item description, date of transaction, dealers and seller.

At the present time, the database is accessed by all Rhode Island police departments as well as 64 Southeastern Massachusetts police departments, 14 Connecticut police departments and two Federal agencies.

Last year, 43,770 sales and pawn transaction slips containing 153,965 precious metal items were entered into the RIPPD, and as of December 31, 2010, there are 681,120 precious metal items contained in the RIPPD database.

Precious Metals Forms