The purpose and intent of this chapter is to assist law enforcement
officials and victims of crime in recovering stolen precious materials,
gems, gemstones and/or other articles by requiring minimum reporting,
maintenance and distribution criteria for secondhand and transient
dealers.
No person shall use, exercise or carry on the business, trade
or occupation of buying scrap gold, old gold, silver, jewelry, home
electronics/audio and visual equipment, musical instruments, telephones
and telephonic equipment, scales, computers, computer hardware and
software, typewriters, word processors, scanners, sporting goods of
all kinds, antiques, platinum, all other precious metals, tools of
all kinds, televisions, DVRs, GPS, camcorders, car stereos, gift cards,
furniture, clothing or other valuable articles, hereinafter referred
to as "secondhand goods or articles," or being a secondhand dealer
within the Borough of Paramus without having first obtained a license
from the Borough of Paramus.
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 IDENTIFICATION
Acceptable forms of identification which include: a current
valid New Jersey Driver's License or Identification Card, a current
valid photo driver's license issued by another US state, a valid United
States Passport, or other verifiable US government issued identification.
ARTICLE
Any article of merchandise, including any portion of such
article, whether a distinct part thereof or not, including every part
thereof whether separable or not, and also including material for
manufacture. And as so defined in N.J.S.A. 51:6-1.
AUTOMATED KIOSK
An interactive device that is permanently installed within
a secure retail space and has technical functions that can remotely
monitor the kiosk, verify the seller's identification, and store goods
securely.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Paramus or his designee/representative.
DATABASE
A computerized interne capable database with hardware and
software compliant to that set by the Chief of Police.
DEALER
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity, whether
permanent or itinerant, who on one or more occasions (through any
means) buys or sells or otherwise exchanges or trades secondhand gold,
silver, precious metals, gems, or jewelry, and includes anyone advertising
the purchase or sale of any of the aforementioned items.
DESIGNATED VENDOR
A person or entity that is appointed or designated by the
Chief of Police who is authorized to collect and maintain precious
metal transaction information, or other purchase information as defined
herein, for the Borough of Paramus.
GIFT CARD
A restricted monetary equivalent or script that is issued
by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary
gift.
ITINERANT BUSINESS
Any business conducted intermittently within the Borough
of Paramus or at varying locations.
PERSON
Any individual natural person, partnership, joint venture,
business, society, associate, club, trustee, trust, corporation, or
unincorporated group, or an officer, agent, employee, servant, factor
or any form of personal representative of any thereof, in any capacity,
acting for self or on behalf of another.
PRECIOUS METALS
Be comprised of gold, silver, platinum and/or their alloys
as defined in N.J.S.A. 51:5-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq., and/or
N.J.S.A. 51:6A-1 et seq.; gems, gemstones, coins and all forms of
jewelry herein contained.
PUBLIC
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
PURCHASE
The exchange of money and the exchange, deposit, pledge,
sale, conveyance or trade of any tangible or intangible article.
REPORTABLE TRANSACTION
Every transaction conducted by a dealer in which precious
metals, or other tangible property, are purchased or exchanged from
or with the public.
SECONDHAND GOODS
Any article previously sold, acquired, exchanged, conveyed,
traded or otherwise formerly owned, including but not limited to scrap
gold, old gold, silver, jewelry, home electronics/audio and visual
equipment, telephones and telephonic equipment, scales, computers,
computer hardware and software, coins, electronic tablets, cameras,
scanners, sporting goods of all kinds, antiques, platinum, all other
precious metals, tools of all kinds, televisions, DVRs, GPS, camcorders,
car stereos, gift cards, furniture, clothing or other valuable articles.
TRANSIENT BUYER
A dealer who has not been in any retail business continuously
for at least six (6) months at any address in the municipality where
the dealer is required to register or who intends to close out or
discontinue all retail business in the Borough of Paramus within six
(6) months. Or as so defined in N.J.S.A. 51:6A-5 and N.J.A.C. 13:47C-1.1.
Every dealer within the Borough of Paramus shall, upon the purchase
of any precious metals, or secondhand goods from the public, be required
to do as follows:
A. Record on a numbered receipt the name, address and telephone number
of the purchaser; 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. This information is to be documented through
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 the State of New Jersey.
B. Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, enter all transaction into the electronic database within twenty-four (24) hours from the date of purchase. The information entered will contain the information in subsection
A. above, plus the following:
(1) A physical description of the seller;
(3) A full description of the item or items purchased, including but
not limited to, marks, numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials, monograms
and serial numbers.
(4) The price paid for the item;
(5) The form must be signed by the seller;
(6) The form must be legibly initialed by the clerk or the dealer who
made the transaction so as to readily identify that individual.
(7) A color photograph or color image of the seller's presented identification.
(8) A color photograph or color image of all items sold. When photographing
or imaging all items must be positioned in a manner that makes them
readily and easily identifiable.
C. All precious metals, articles and secondhand goods are to be made
available for inspection by the Chief of Police of the Borough of
Paramus for a period of fourteen (14) days from the date the information
required above is received by the Chief of Police on the approved
form. The precious metals shall remain in the same condition as when
purchased and shall not be changed, modified, melted or disposed of
by the purchaser until the fourteen-day period has expired. During
this fourteen-day period, the precious metals shall be placed in public
view at the purchaser's place of business.
D. In the event a database failure, or dealer's computer equipment malfunction,
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 transaction information
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
the chapter and subsequently being subject to the penalties for doing
so.
E. Dealer payment to the sellers in cash shall be limited to two (2)
transactions during a seven (7) day period for the same seller. The
seven (7) day period will commence on the day of the first transaction
and end seven (7) days after the transaction, i.e. if transaction
#1 occurs on Monday the seven (7) day period ends on Sunday. Furthermore,
no cash payments shall be made to the same sellers who make more than
five (5) transactions in any given thirty (30) day period. Sellers
making transactions over the number of prescribed weekly and monthly
periods will be paid by the dealer by means of a bank check drawn
from the dealer's business account.
F. 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 sworn police officer of the State of New Jersey to examine any
database, book, ledger, or any other record on the premises relating
to the purchase of precious metals from the public, as well as the
articles purchased or received, and to take possession of any article
known by the 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.
No dealer within the Borough of Paramus shall purchase any precious
metals from any person under the age of eighteen (18) years.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a fine of five hundred ($500.00) dollars for
a first offense, one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars for a second offense,
and three thousand ($3,000.00) dollars for a third offense or by imprisonment
for a term not exceeding ninety (90) days or by a period of community
service not exceeding ninety (90) days. Each and every violation shall
be considered a separate violation. Every day that a violation continues
shall be a separate violation. Each violation shall result in an additional
ten (10) day suspension. Any person who is convicted of violating
the provisions of this chapter within one year of the date of a previous
violation and who was fined for the previous violation may be sentenced
by the Court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional
fine imposed as a repeat offender shall not be less than the minimum
or exceed the maximum fine provided herein, and same shall be calculated
separately from the fine imposed for the violation of this section.