Policy Text
Kern County Sheriff’s Office
Policies and Procedures
TITLE:
VEHICLE INVENTORY SEARCHES
NO: J-3400
APPROVED:
Donny Youngblood, Sheriff-Coroner
EFFECTIVE:
May 26, 2011
REVIEWED:
06/22/2018
REVISED:
UPDATED:
J-3400-1J-3400
POLICY
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office recognizes its responsibility to those persons whose vehicle
has been stored or impounded by a member of this office. As such, it is the policy of the Kern
County Sheriff's Office to conduct vehicle inventory searches pursuant to current law and the
provisions in this policy. A vehicle inventory is intended to protect an owner’s property and protect
the Kern County Sheriff’s Office against claims of lost, stolen, or vandalized property.
DIRECTIVE
An inventory should be conducted only after the vehicle has come into lawful police custody.
Typically, this occurs after the driver has been cited, arrested, or the vehicle has been in a traffic
accident.