Policy Text
Page 1 of 2 16/11 (New 3/07)
Field Release of Property
The purpose of this General Order i s to describe the procedures for releasing property
in the field. I. General
A. Property Receipt/Report:
1. A report number is required w hen any property to be released is
found. Numbers shall be recorded on the Property Receipt/Report
prior to the release of the property.
2. A Property Receipt/Report will contain all requested informa tion in
the heading prior to the release of property.
3. A Property Receipt/Report will contain a detailed descriptio n of
each item being released, inc luding any serial number or
descriptive markings and how/where it was obtained.
B. Types Of Property To Be Released:
1. Found Property – Property that has been found by a citizen o r an
officer, which is not of evident iary value, and the owner has b een
identified and verified through doc umentation, may be released to
the owner or owner’s representative.
2. Recovered Stolen Property – P roperty known by the officer to be
stolen and the victim/owner has been identified and verified th rough
documentation, may be releas ed to the owner or owner’s
representative. Note: If an in surance company has paid a cla im
for the property, the insuranc e company is now the owner.
3. Firearms – Firearms shall not be released in the field. See
procedures outlined in General Order 16/10.
II. Release of Property
A. When property is being released to the owner in the field, t he officer
should have the property photogr aphed and complete the front an d back
of the Property Receipt/Report.
Page 2 of 2 16/11 (New 3/07)
B. The owner will comp lete the information requested on the rev erse side of
the Property Receipt/Report, inc luding signing and dating the r eport. The
last copy of the Property Receipt/Report will be given to the o wner along
with the property.
C. After being signed by the owner and the property has been re leased, the
second copy of the report will be included with the officer’s c rime report
and/or sent to Records. The firs t and third copies of the repo rt will be
placed in a locker to go to the Property Warehouse.