[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Borough Council of the
Borough of Berlin 5-4-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-05; amended in its entirety 3-12-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A.Â
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 minimum reporting,
maintenance and distribution criteria for secondhand and transient
dealers.
B.Â
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 devices, 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 Berlin without having first obtained a license from the Borough
of Berlin Police as hereinafter provided.
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; a current,
valid photo driver's license issued by another US state; a valid
United States passport; or other verifiable United States government-issued
identification.
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.
The Chief of Police of the Borough of Berlin or his designee/representative.
A computerized Internet-capable database with hardware and
software compliant to that 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 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.
A person or entity who 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 Berlin.
A restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued
by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a nonmonetary
gift.
Any business conducted intermittently within the Borough
of Berlin or at varying locations.
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.
Comprised of gold, silver, sterling, 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.
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
The exchange of money and the exchange, deposit, pledge,
sale, conveyance or trade of any tangible or intangible article.
Every transaction conducted by a dealer in which precious
metals, or other tangible property, are purchased or exchanged from
or with the public.
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, 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 devices, camcorders, car stereos, gift cards, furniture, clothing
or other valuable articles.
A dealer who has not been in any retail business continuously
for at least six months at that 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 Berlin within six
months; or as so defined in N.J.S.A. 51:6A-5 and N.J.A.C. 13:47C-1.1.
A.Â
Each dealer conducting business within the jurisdiction of the Borough
of Berlin shall first register with the Chief of Police, who shall
fingerprint the applicant and institute such an investigation of the
applicant's moral character and business responsibility as he
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 section.
Upon completion of the investigation, the Chief of Police shall either
issue or deny the license based upon the results of his investigation.
Upon issuance of the license, the applicant shall be given a copy
of this chapter.
B.Â
A dealer of precious metals, gems or gemstones or secondhand goods
shall, prior to buying, attempting to buy or offering to buy, register
with the Chief of Police, providing the following information on an
application prescribed by the Police Department:
Upon issuance of a license, the fee shall be based as provided
in this chapter.[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Current fees are available at the municipal
offices.
A.Â
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked
by 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 or disorderly persons' offense involving
moral turpitude; and
(5)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 five days
prior to the date set for the hearing.
Every dealer within the Borough of Berlin shall, upon the purchase
of any precious metals or secondhand goods from the public, be required
to do as follows:
A.Â
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. All costs associated with the designated electronic
database software system will be incurred by the dealer. Documentation
showing all fees associated with the designated electronic database
software must be produced prior to the approval of the mercantile
license. These records shall be subject to the inspection of any authorized
police officer of the Borough of Berlin.
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. The information entered will contain the information in Subsection A above, plus the following:
(1)Â
A physical description of the seller.
(2)Â
The receipt number.
(3)Â
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)Â
The price paid for the item.
(5)Â
The form must be signed by the seller.
(6)Â
The form must be legibly initialed by the clerk or the dealer who
made the transaction so as to readily identify that individual.
(7)Â
A color photograph or color image of the seller's presented
identification.
(8)Â
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.Â
The precious metals are to be made available for inspection by the
Chief of Police of the Borough of Berlin for a period of 10 business
days from the date the information required above is received by the
Chief of Police on the approved form and entered into the computerized
database by the Chief of Police. 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 ten-day
period has expired. During this ten-day period, the precious metals
shall be placed in public view at the purchaser's place of business.
If the property is such that it would create a hardship on the dealer
by holding the precious metals 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.
[Amended 2-22-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-02]
D.Â
In the event of database failure, or a 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 this chapter and subsequently being subject to the penalties for
doing so.
E.Â
Dealer payment to sellers in cash shall be limited to two transactions
during a seven-day period for the same seller. The seven-day period
will commence on the day of the first transaction and end seven days
after the transaction, i.e., if Transaction No. 1 occurs on Monday,
the seven-day period ends on Sunday. Furthermore, no cash payments
shall be made to the same sellers who make more than five transactions
in any given thirty-day period. Sellers making transactions over the
number of proscribed weekly and monthly periods will be paid by the
dealer by means of a bank check drawn from the dealer's business
account.
F.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 Berlin Borough Police Department 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.
This chapter shall not apply to purchases made by jewelers or
other dealers from wholesalers or other suppliers but shall only apply
to those purchases made from the public or other retail purchases.
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 Berlin Borough Police Department.
No dealer within the Borough of Berlin shall purchase any precious
metals from any person under the age of 18 years.
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
or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period
of community service not exceeding 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-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 chapter.