New York – Wednesday 19^th March, 2003 – The National Equipment Register (NER) today sent out the first copies of their new guide to help law enforcement officers and agents investigate suspicious off-road mobile equipment such as that used in construction, agriculture, and road maintenance. The pocket-sized guide compliments the existing cost free, 24-hour investigation support services that NER already provides officers.

Off-road equipment is often hard to investigate because of the difficulty in finding the correct identification number or, having found an ID number, the difficulty in finding a theft or owner record.Often, suspicious equipment is not recovered simply because an officer does not have the necessary technical knowledge to approach a piece of equipment and initiate an investigation.Increased budgetary pressure and other crime fighting prorities gives officers less time for equipment investigations and the importance of immediate access to the necessaary information is therefore more important than ever.

The purpose of the Guide is to provide the information necessary for an officer or agent to understand the theft problem, know what to look for and have the technical knowledge to initiate an investigation.The Guide also provides terminology to help officers discuss equipment with colleagues, those in the equipment industry and NER operators.The Guide has been designed and edited over the last six months in cooperation with organizations, officers and agents around the country who are experienced in equipment investigations and, because they often teach officers how to investigate equipment, have a clear idea of what information is needed.The general nature of the content compliments rather than duplicates existing guides that help with equipment identification.

David Shillingford, president of NER, noted that “the information needed for an equipment investigation falls into two categroies: that which is stored on databases and that which an officer carries in his head or pocket.NER’s existing 24-hour services provide information in the first category and now we are able to add the Guide to our training programs to help with the second.”

Law enforcment officers may request a free copy of the Guide by Registering at www.nerusa.com/law.asp or by calling 866 FIND PIN

For more information or example images from the Guide, please email Gsider@NERusa.com

About NER

NER’s equipment specialists provide law enforcement with cost-free online access to over 25,000 records of stolen equipment and, through a 24-hour hotline (866 FIND PIN), access to over 8 million records of equipment ownership. NER specialists also provide officers with assistance in identifying a piece of equipment, locating Product Identification Numbers and verifying that the PIN matches the type of equipment in question. Calling NER also allows officers to determine whether or not a suspicious or impounded piece of equipment is listed as stolen on the NER database, and request information about the last known owner of the equipment in question. Regional theft alerts, investigation tips and training seminars are also available. NER’s services are offered cost-free to law enforcement through support from the insurance industry.