Think of the Louvre jewel heist and what went wrong and how it could have been even worse. Did CCTV, alarms systems and security guards work? Could there have been injuries and deaths?
It’s not usually thought of as a security system and it’s no longer front-of-mind for law-enforcement professionals, but the way large institutions tag non-fixed property with asset tags and keep centralized records about those capital assets is an important tenet of business-management practices that also doubles as a security system.
In fact, it’s a billion-dollar, global industry, called enterprise asset management (EAM) and the U.S. federal government has regulations requiring the practice for all government agencies and entities doing business with the federal government.
FAR 52.245-1(f)(1)(ii) – My Property ID Registry
There is also a consumer version of this practice, first developed in 1963, called Operation Identification (Operation ID). It was very popular among law enforcement agencies and was rapidly adopted from coast to coast and across Canada.
GGD-79-54 Department of Justice Should Explore the Feasibility of a Uniform Identification System for Marking Personal Property
…even by the NYPD in 1972., which still supports its use.
City Starts Burglary‐Prevention Program – The New York Times
The problem was that Operation ID was not well promoted and the strategy was cumbersome.
Protect Your Valuables with Operation ID: Tag It, Track It, Keep It
Today, residential property crimes remain a somewhat misunderstood and potentially dangerous crime because recovered stolen valuables are impossible to identify and trace back to the rightful owners.
In the case of the Chilean nationals burglarizing the homes of professional athletes in late 2024 and early 2025, when apprehended, were charged with many things but not burglary.
United States of America v. Pablo Zuniga Cartes; Ignacio Zuniga Cartes: Bastian Jimenez Freraut; Jordan Quiroga Sanchez; Bastian Orellano Morales; Alexander Huiaguil Chavez; Sergio Ortego Cabello
During that crime spree, the FBI issued a memo to professional sports leagues and professional athletes, saying the following:
The FBI…suggested athletes keep records of valuables, inventorying items and their whereabouts….
‘Organized theft groups bypass alarm systems, use Wi-Fi jammers to block Wi-Fi connections and disable devices, cover security cameras, and obfuscate their identities,’ the FBI report said.
FBI issues warning about burglaries of pro athletes’ homes – ABC News
Of the millions of burglaries and other property crimes committed across the country, very few are cleared (somewhere around 7%), and some turn violent.
Victimization During Household Burglary
