Pawnbrokers report every item to the Department of Justice.  It is the law in Calif.  If you bring in stolen property to a pawn shop you will be caught and prosecuted. Licensed pawn shops, in the rare instance that something come in stolen, allows police detectives to solve property crimes. Since the thief must show ID, give thumbprint and signature. You have to be really dumb to bring in stolen items.

See what Rick from Pawn Stars says about stolen goods.