Columbia resident urges review of secondhand-dealer licensing after repeated tire thefts

Joel Hurwitz of Columbia told the Howard County Council that he has observed repeated thefts of tires and wheel rims in his condominium community and believes more enforcement of secondhand dealer establishment licensing could help prevent stolen parts from being easily resold. "It's way too easy to sell them," Hurwitz said, describing incidents in his community where cars were left on blocks after all four tires were taken.

Hurwitz said he has emailed council members and spoken with the relevant director and offered to provide additional questions or information. He asked the council to start work with the administration to examine secondhand-dealer and pawnbroker licensing practices and enforcement for items such as tires and rims; no council action was recorded in the hearing transcript.

The council acknowledged the testimony but did not ask follow-up questions in the hearing record.