Policy Text
Page 1 of 2 16/06 (REV 3/07)
Warehouse Property Converted For Public Use
The purpose of this General Order i s to provide instructions fo r the release of unclaimed
property booked at the Sheriff' s Property Warehouse for departm ental and other public
use.
I. Authority
A. Unclaimed property booked in to the Property Warehouse may b e released
for public use pursuant to 2080.4 of the Civil Code.
B. Property shall not be releas ed for public use until all appl icable laws and
statutes, as outli ned in the Property Bur eau Operations Orders, have been
met and complied with.
II. General
A. Property shall be released for public use only.
B. Requests for property for public use shall be initiated when the need is
ascertained.
C. The Division or Bureau Comm ander shall complete an IDC to t he
Commander of the Forensics and R ecords Division requesting that
unclaimed property be transferred to his/her unit and authorize a specific
person(s) to pick-up and sign for the property.
D. Governmental and other agencie s wishing to use unclaimed pro perty for a
public use may make a request to the Forensics and Records Divi sion
Commander. Their requests will be reviewed and filled after th e needs of
the Sheriff’s Departm ent have been filled.
E. A new authorization letter m ust be completed annually in Jan uary and
when there is a change of command in the division.
F. The Property Bureau will fill r equests according to: (1) ava ilability; (2) date
requested; and (3) the needs o f the Sheriff’s Department.
G. Accountability for items acqui red shall be the responsibilit y of the receiving
Division Commander or agency head.
Page 2 of 2 16/06 (REV 3/07) H. When the item is no longer needed or becom es unserviceable, the item
may be disposed of in complianc e with Department and County pol icy.
III. Property Acquired for Use Within the Department
A. Firearms
1. Refer to General Order 16/10.
B. All other property
1. The Property Bureau shall prov ide a copy of the request lett er with
all required approvals of all pr operty released for departmenta l use
to the Department Invent ory Coordinator, Adm inistrative Divisio n for
property that would be considered a fixed asset. Items that ar e not
fixed assets will be tracked a t the division level. The docume nt
shall include the type of proper ty, serial number (if applicabl e),
property number or SSD report num ber, receiving division, date of
transfer and signature of person receiving physical custody of item.
2. If the items transferred are fixed assets, as identified by the county
fixed asset equipment list, the Admi nistrative Division shall b e
responsible for enteri ng the item (s) into the county inventory
control system.
IV. Property Acquired for Use in a Criminal Investigation
A. Firearms
1. Refer to General Order 16/10.
B. All other property
1. The Property Bureau shall mainta in a record of all such rele ases.
This record shall include the type of property, the serial numb er (if
applicable), property number or SSD report number, the receivin g
division, date of transfer and t he signature of person receivin g
physical custody of item. No i tem will be released for use in a
criminal investigation until a ll applicable laws and statutes a s
outlined in the property section , special services operations o rders
manual have been met and complied with.
2. The receiving Division Comm ander shall be responsible for cr oss-
referencing each item with the report number for which the item is
to be used and shall, at all times, maintain accountability for said
property.
3. Narcotics requests must be accompanied by a court order.