[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Pemberton 9-4-2013 by Ord. No. 16-2013.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the repeal
of former Ch. 120, Jewelry, Secondhand, adopted 6-17-1981 by Ord.
No. 11-1981, as amended.
The purpose and intent of this chapter is to assist law enforcement
officials and victims of crime in recovering stolen precious metals,
gems, gemstones and/or other articles by requiring reasonable reporting,
maintenance and distribution criteria for secondhand dealers.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings ascribed herein.
Words used in the present tense shall include the future; words in
the plural number shall include the singular number; and words in
the singular number shall include the plural number. The word "shall"
is always mandatory and not merely directory.
Acceptable forms of identification include: a current, valid
New Jersey driver's license or identification card issued by
the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, a current, valid photo driver's
license issued by another United States state, other verifiable United
States government-issued photo identification with address, or a valid
United States passport and evidence of current address.
The Chief of Police of the Township of Pemberton or his designee/representative.
A computerized internet-capable database with hardware and
software compliant with standards set by the Chief of Police.
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity, whether
permanent or itinerant, who on one or more occasions (through any
means) buys or sells, receives for pawn or otherwise exchanges or
trades gold, silver, precious or semiprecious gems or jewelry secondhand,
and includes anyone advertising the purchase, sale or receipt for
pawn of any of the aforementioned items.
Any article or product with a gold content matter, irrespective
of the fineness thereof.
Means, but is not limited to, those categories known as "diamonds,"
"rubies," "pearls," and "sapphires," and commonly called "jewels."
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
Every transaction conducted by a dealer in which secondhand
gold, silver or precious or semiprecious gems are purchased, pawned
or exchanged from or with the public.
Any person, partnership, association or corporation which
sells secondhand gold, silver or precious or semiprecious gems.
Any article or product with a silver content matter, irrespective
of the fineness thereof.
A.Â
No person shall engage or continue in the business of buying or selling
gold, silver and precious or semiprecious gems secondhand except as
authorized by this chapter and without first applying to the Township
Clerk for issuance of a license.
B.Â
Upon such initial application to the Township Clerk, each dealer
shall be provided with an application prescribed by the Pemberton
Township Police Department and shall provide the following information
on said application:
C.Â
Every dealer conducting business or intending to conduct business
within the jurisdiction of the Township of Pemberton shall first be
required to be fingerprinted and shall consent to an investigation
of the applicant's moral character and business responsibility
by the Pemberton Township Police Department and as the Chief of Police
deems necessary for the protection of the public welfare. In the event
that the dealer is a business entity other than a sole proprietorship,
the officers in a corporation or the partners in a partnership (or
limited partnership) shall be deemed to be the applicant(s) who shall
be fingerprinted and investigated in accordance with this chapter.
Upon completion of the investigation and upon recommendation of the
Chief of Police, the Township Council shall either issue or deny the
license. Upon issuance of the license, the applicant shall be given
a copy of this chapter.
A.Â
Prior to final issuance of a license, a fee of $350 shall be paid
to the Clerk of the Township of Pemberton, $300 of which shall comprise
the fee to be paid to the vendor operating the electronic recordkeeping
database as part of the licensee's participation in such program.
Alternatively, the licensee may be required to make payment of the
$300 directly to the vendor selected by the Chief of Police for participation
in the electronic recordkeeping database, in which case a license
fee of $50 shall be paid to the Township Clerk. Payment of all fees,
whether to the Township Clerk or to the electronic recordkeeping vendor,
shall be paid prior to issuance of a license.
B.Â
A license issued under the provisions of this chapter shall not be transferable and shall terminate on December 31 of the year in which said license is issued, unless it is renewed pursuant to the provisions of Subsection C below.
C.Â
On or about November 1 of each year, the Chief of Police shall make available a renewal application for each licensed dealer under this chapter. Upon submission of the renewal application and the required annual fee of $350 in accordance with § 120-4A, the license will be renewed, unless the dealer has violated provisions of § 120-5. In such case, the Chief of Police will notify the dealer, who may request a hearing as described in § 120-5.
A.Â
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked
by the Township Council, upon recommendation of the Chief of Police,
after a hearing, upon notice to the applicant, for any of the following
causes:
(1)Â
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement contained in the application
for a license;
(2)Â
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement made in the course of
carrying on the business of purchasing secondhand precious metals,
gems and jewelry;
(3)Â
Any violation of this chapter;
(4)Â
Conviction of any crime;
(5)Â
Conviction of any disorderly persons' offense involving moral
turpitude;
(6)Â
Conducting the business of soliciting or canvassing in an unlawful
manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace
or to constitute a menace to the health, safety, or general welfare
of the public.
B.Â
Notice of the hearing for revocation of a license shall be given
in writing, setting forth specifically the grounds of complaint and
the time and place of hearing. Such notice shall be mailed, postage
prepaid, to the licensee at his last known address at least 10 business
days prior to the date set for the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted
by the Chief of Police.
Every dealer within the Township of Pemberton shall, upon the
purchase of any secondhand gold, silver or precious or semiprecious
gems, be required to do as follows:
A.Â
Record, using a unique transaction number, the name, address and
telephone number of the seller or sellers; the time and date of the
transaction; the net weight in terms of pounds Troy, pennyweight (Troy)
or kilograms/grams of the precious metals; fineness in terms of karats
for gold, and sterling or coin for silver, in accordance with N.J.S.A.
51:5-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq., and any property containing
a serial number. This information is to be documented through the
use of an electronic database software system as designated by the
Chief of Police. These records shall be subject to the inspection
of any sworn police officer of Pemberton Township acting in the performance
of his/her duties.
B.Â
Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using
the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, enter all transactions
into the electronic database within 48 hours from the date of purchase,
including the following information:
(1)Â
The unique transaction number of the purchase;
(2)Â
The name, address, date of birth, telephone number, and governmental
identification number of the seller;
(3)Â
A full description of property sold or pawned by the seller, including
but not limited to marks, numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials,
monograms and serial numbers, face value and identifying numbers of
gift cards;
(4)Â
The price paid for the property;
(5)Â
The entry must include the name of the clerk or the dealer who made
the transaction so as to readily identify that individual.
(6)Â
A color photograph or color image of the seller's presented
governmental photo identification scanned into the transaction record.
(7)Â
A color photograph or color image of all property sold scanned into
the transaction record. When photographing or imaging, all property
must be positioned in a manner that makes it readily and easily identifiable.
C.Â
All of the above-described property cannot be sold or disposed of
and shall be made available for inspection by any sworn police officer
in the performance of his/her duties for a period of seven business
days from the date the information required above is received by the
Chief of Police in the prescribed electronic format. The property
shall remain in the same condition as when purchased and shall not
be changed, modified, melted or disposed of by the dealer until the
seven-day period has expired. If the property is such that it would
create a hardship on the dealer by holding the property for such period,
the dealer may present the property to the Chief of Police in order
that it may be photographed and, if deemed necessary by the Chief
of Police, an investigation be implemented. The Chief of Police has
the authority to grant the dealer a waiver of the requirement under
this section.
D.Â
In the event of a database failure or dealer's computer equipment malfunctions, all transaction information is required to be submitted on paper forms approved by the Chief of Police. In the event that paper forms are used, the dealer is responsible to enter all required transaction information described in § 120-6A and B into the database as soon as possible upon the dealer's equipment being repaired or replaced or the database coming back into service. Failure by the dealer to properly maintain computer equipment in a reasonable fashion, or failure by the dealer to replace faulty computer equipment, may result in the dealer being cited for a violation of this chapter and may result in the revocation of the dealer's license under § 120-5 of this chapter.
E.Â
It shall be the requisite duty of every dealer, and of every person
in the dealer's employ, to admit to the premises during business
hours any member of the Pemberton Township Police Department or any
other sworn police officer acting in the performance of his/her duties
to examine any database, book, ledger, or any other record on the
premises relating to the purchase of silver, gold, or precious or
semiprecious gems from the public and to take possession of any article
known by a police officer or official to be missing or to have been
stolen or where the officer or official has probable cause to believe
the article is missing or stolen.
This chapter shall not apply to purchases made by dealers from
wholesalers or other legitimate suppliers but shall only apply to
those purchases made from the public, which includes other retail
sellers. The dealer shall keep records of all wholesale purchases
for a period of six months from the date of such purchase, which records
shall be opened to investigation by the Pemberton Township Police
Department or any sworn police officer in the performance of his/her
duties.
A licensee shall not accept or buy any gold, silver or precious
or semiprecious gem from any person under the age of 18 years unless
such minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian and said parent
or guardian gives specific written consent to the transaction and
acknowledges the receipt required by the buyer to be given to the
seller.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a minimum fine of $100 or a maximum of $2,000
and/or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days and/or by
a period of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each and every
violation shall be considered a separate violation. Each day that
a violation continues shall be a separate violation. Each violation
shall result in a ten-day suspension of the dealer's license
under this chapter.
