After a burglary, one of the most useful things a victim can hand to police and an insurer is a list of what was taken, with serial numbers. The Immobilise register and the CheckMEND second-hand database exist to make that easier. This article summarises what the services say about themselves on their own websites, together with Secured by Design (SBD) advice for householders. Because these are operators’ own descriptions, performance claims are attributed to them and are not independently verified here. It concerns the UK. This is general information, not a product recommendation.
What Immobilise is
Immobilise describes itself as a free online registration service that lets the public record ownership details of valued possessions. It says the information is held in a secure database accessible to the police and viewable on the Police National Property Database, which law enforcement uses to trace owners of lost or stolen property. It describes itself as a police-approved Secured by Design initiative and says it is certified to ISO 27001 for data protection. It states that the online service is free to use, while it also sells marking products such as kits, labels and a numbered keyring.
To register an item, the FAQ says a person creates an account and enters details such as make, model and serial number. It says almost anything can be registered, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, bicycles, musical instruments, sports equipment, jewellery and watches, provided there is a serial number, engraving or other unique marking, and a picture and description can be added. For items with no identifier, it says marking with a UV pen or an asset label can create a unique identifier that can then be registered.
Reporting an item lost or stolen
Immobilise says a registered item can be reported lost or stolen by logging in and flagging it, that status updates are immediately visible to police, and that flagging can help prevent items being traded through pawnbrokers or retailer trade-in programmes. It says it is linked with CheckMEND, the second-hand stolen property database. It also says that registered details can be downloaded as certificates of ownership to make insurance claims and police reports easier, and points to a “Report My Loss” service for loss report numbers needed for insurance.
These are the practical strengths of a register: a searchable record of identifiers that police can match to recovered property and a ready-made list for a claim. The site’s Home Inventory and Evidence Builder tool covers building such a list, and the guide to preserving evidence after a burglary covers what to do at the scene.
What CheckMEND does
CheckMEND describes itself as a device history check used by buyers and sellers of used electronics. It says a report can look at property history records and confirm item identity, show whether an item is or has been recorded as lost, stolen, counterfeit or cloned, whether insurance or warranty claims have been made against it, whether it is new, and for handsets any restrictions on international use. It says checks need at least one identifier: for phones, the IMEI number, which can be shown by dialling *#06#, and for other devices the serial number. CheckMEND lists categories including phones, tablets, laptops, computers, satellite navigation, cameras, bicycles, games consoles, audio equipment, watches and televisions. It says reports are delivered instantly, with a downloadable report as evidence of the result.
For a householder, this has two uses. When buying second-hand electronics or a bicycle, a check can show whether the item has been reported stolen. And when an item is stolen, the owner’s registration on Immobilise is how a report reaches that database, according to the operator’s description.
What a register cannot do
A register does not stop a break-in. The Greater Manchester Police statement quoted on the Immobilise home page says that items marked as registered are less likely to be stolen and that households displaying Immobilise stickers are less likely to be targeted by burglars. That is a police force’s view as reproduced on the operator’s site, and the page does not give data to support it, so it should be treated as an opinion. SBD’s holiday advice, by contrast, stresses the basics: SBD’s Technical Manager says that most burglars are opportunists who want to get in quickly, steal something of value and leave quickly, and that a secure home is a deterrent. Its advice includes good locks and bolts on all outside doors, removing keys from doors and windows, setting the alarm, using timer plugs, keeping valuables out of view of windows and locking them in a ground-anchored safe.
Registration also depends on what is written down. A serial number that was never recorded cannot be registered after a theft, and an item without any marking cannot be identified as belonging to a particular person.
A sensible routine
- Photograph the label or serial number on each device and record it once, in a list stored somewhere other than the house.
- Register the items that carry unique identifiers, and mark those that do not.
- If something is stolen, report it to police and flag it on the register so that the record is updated.
- Before buying a used phone, laptop or bicycle, use a check that looks at recorded loss and theft history.
Common questions
Does registering an item make it safe from theft?
No. The register supports identification and recovery. Prevention comes from locks, alarms and habits, as SBD’s advice describes.
Do I need a serial number?
Immobilise says registration needs a serial number, engraving or other unique marking, and that UV pen or asset label marking can supply one where none exists.
The bottom line
Immobilise and CheckMEND are record-keeping tools: a free police-linked register of ownership details and a history check for used goods, according to their own descriptions. They help police return recovered property and help owners support insurance claims, but they do not replace locks and alarms. Register serial numbers before anything is lost.