Handing lost property to Police

garsands · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:30

If no one claims the item what then happens to the item ?

Brian8bit · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:34

garsands said:
If no one claims the item what then happens to the item ?

It can be returned to the person who found it after a certain period of time.

Danthus · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:35

You can have it.

Wicksta · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:35

Auctioned off by the looks of it, I found a cool site called Google and that seems to suggest it with all the Police lost property auctions on it.

Danthus · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:35

6 months I think you have to wait.

Brian8bit · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:37

Wicksta said:
Auctioned off by the looks of it, I found a cool site called Google and that seems to suggest it with all the Police lost property auctions on it.

That stuff the police recover from things like thefts or from handling stolen goods jobs, that nobody claims. If you hand an item into the police yourself, if no one claims it after a period of time, you can then claim it. If you don't claim it then it'll end up in the auctions.

Ricochet J · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:41

So if you find a mobile phone, and it's barred, and you hand it to the police, who then hand it to you 6 months later because no one has claimed it, does it mean it will be legal to sell it on within the UK?

Brian8bit · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:42

Ricochet J said:
So if you find a mobile phone, and it's barred, and you hand it to the police, who then hand it to you 6 months later because no one has claimed it does it, mean it will be legal to sell it on within the UK?

Yes.

All found property is retained by the Police for a period of two months to allow time for the loser to reclaim it. The finder is then given a further month in which to claim back the property after which the property is set aside for disposal as directed by the Chief Constable, usually by sale at auction. Details of the next auction will be advertised here nearer the time.

What happens to goods handed over to the police
The usual police practice is that you can have the goods back and keep them if they are not claimed within six weeks (six months in Northern Ireland). However, the police may want more time if there are special circumstances and they want to investigate, for example, if they suspect the goods are stolen or think that the owner can be traced. Once the property has been returned to you by the police, the original owner cannot usually then claim the goods.

garsands · 22 Jul 2011 at 23:46

ummm whats the odds of the owner claiming this back then as this is what someone has handed into me !

http://www.prepaymania.co.uk/mobilephone/apple-iphone-3gs-black-16gb-unlocked.html?base

jcr · 23 Jul 2011 at 07:12

my company deals with lost property quite regularly. popular items like mobile phones have been know to go missing after being handed in to police lost property. sad but true.

Derek W · 23 Jul 2011 at 07:23

jcr said:
my company deals with lost property quite regularly. popular items like mobile phones have been know to go missing after being handed in to police lost property. sad but true.

That shouldn't happen so much now that the news of the world went belly up though

garsands · 23 Jul 2011 at 07:40

Hope I get a receipt from the police as proof of handing it in.

Cosimo · 23 Jul 2011 at 08:39

garsands said:
Hope I get a receipt from the police as proof of handing it in.

You should ask for one.

MrMoonX · 23 Jul 2011 at 09:21

Derek W said:
That shouldn't happen so much now that the news of the world went belly up though

will happen more as they won't be getting paid by notw to give out info

Heliospherez · 23 Jul 2011 at 09:29

jcr said:
my company deals with lost property quite regularly. popular items like mobile phones have been know to go missing after being handed in to police lost property. sad but true.

I read a story about 4 years ago - where a well known magazine handed 12 wallets into various police stations across the country claiming they had found it in the street. The wallets contained £40.

From what I can remember, only 4 of the wallets were eventually handed back to the magazine. 3 could not be located when they were enquired about - one was claimed to be handed back to the owner when it hadn't been - and surprisingly 2 of the wallets no longer had the money in them when they were retrieved from the lost and found areas of the cop shops :rolleyes:

garsands · 25 Jul 2011 at 13:09

Handed it to the Police today, got a receipt & it says it can not be returned to the finder.

The owner has 28 days to claim a item if not claimed by the owner the item may be reclaimed by the finder.
Except animals & mobile phones as they could hold personal details thereon. (not the animals)

Aod · 25 Jul 2011 at 13:17

Go on, what was the item?

garsands · 25 Jul 2011 at 13:23

Aod said:
Go on, what was the item?

Oh only a £500 :eek:

mobile phone linked on post #10 above.

Edrof · 25 Jul 2011 at 13:26

Heliospherez said:
I read a story about 4 years ago - where a well known magazine handed 12 wallets into various police stations across the country claiming they had found it in the street. The wallets contained £40.

From what I can remember, only 4 of the wallets were eventually handed back to the magazine. 3 could not be located when they were enquired about - one was claimed to be handed back to the owner when it hadn't been - and surprisingly 2 of the wallets no longer had the money in them when they were retrieved from the lost and found areas of the cop shops

That is ****-poor IMO.

Captain Chaos · 25 Jul 2011 at 14:17

I handed in a Seamaster watch about 6 years or so ago. I was told I had to wait 6 months before being able to claim it (if owner could not be found). Owner came forward...... Or did they hahaha

oh well, good deed done I suppose lol