After making what might have been a $1,000-plus investment in skis and bindings, Parkites can attempt to protect the equipment from thieves without spending a cent.
The Park City Police Department offers a free ski and snowboard registry that is meant to discourage thefts as well as make it easier to identify the equipment if it is stolen and later found.
The program has been available in its present form for approximately five years. Bill Morris, a police officer who oversees the ski registry, said nearly 2,000 pairs of skis or snowboards have been registered with the Police Department.
Morris is not aware of any skis or snowboards that are on the list being reported stolen. People who register the equipment are provided a decal to attach to the skis or the snowboard identifying them with a number generated by the Police Department. The decal also notes that the equipment is part of the registry and provides the Police Department’s phone number.
“We consider that an indication of success,” Morris said about the track record of zero reported thefts of equipment listed on the registry.
Morris said the decals are a deterrent to thieves who might otherwise take the equipment.
“Crooks look for easy targets,” Morris said.
Morris left fliers describing the registry at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort early in the ski season. He said he might conduct on-site registration drives at the two resorts later in the ski season.
Thefts that target skis and snowboards are regularly reported to the Police Department, although sometimes cases turn out to involve misplaced rather than stolen equipment. There had not been a rash of reports through the middle of December.
People may register the equipment by either going to the Park Avenue police station on weekdays or by signing up on City Hall’s website.
To register using the website, start at the front page, www.parkcity.org. Select the “I Want To . . . ” menu at the top of the page. Then select the option of “Register my Skis/Snowboard (Equipment).” The registration form asks for information like a person’s name and phone number. It also requests the color of the equipment, its manufacturer, its model and its serial number.
Morris will mail the decals to people who register using the website.
For more information or further instructions about registering the equipment, call or e-mail Morris. His phone number is 615-5538. His e-mail address is [email protected].