Policy Text
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
G.O. 536.02
1 OF 4
536.02
RECOVERED, STORED, IMPOUNDED AN D ASSET SEIZED MOTOR VEHICLES
09-28-10
PURPOSE
The purpose of this order is to establish proce dures for processing recovered, stored, impounded, or
asset seized vehicles.
POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Sa cramento Police Department to safeguard motor vehicles that are
recovered, stored, impounded, or asset seized at t he direction of Departme nt personnel by following
established procedures and properly documenting police actions.
PROCEDURE
A. DEFINITIONS
1. RECOVERY - Found stolen vehicle.2. STORAGE - Vehicle caused to be stored by a member of the Department [e.g. 22651(g)
VC, 22651(h) VC].
3. IMPOUND - Vehicle kept for police custody until legal obligation fulfilled [e.g. 14602.6
VC, 22651(i) VC, or 22651(o) VC].
4. EVIDENCE IMPOUND - Vehicle kept in polic e custody until vehicle has no further value
as evidence.
5. ASSET SEIZURE - Public entity in tends to take title of vehicle.
B. GENERAL
1. Officers shall make a visual inspection of the Vehicle Identificati on Number (VIN) of all
motor vehicles that are recovered, stored, impounded, or asset seized to determine if it
corresponds to the license plat e and registration of the vehicle.
2. An SPD 188 (Vehicle Recovery/Storage/Inv entory) shall normally be used whenever a
vehicle is recovered, stored, impounded, or asset seized.a. Officers shall inventory the contents of every vehicle recovered, stored,
impounded, or asset seized by the Department to protect:(1) the owner's property while it is in police custody.(2) the Department when claims or disput es arise over the status of property.
(3) officers and the public from potential danger.
b. Inventories shall include the contents of any open or closed containers found
within the vehicle, incl uding the passenger compartment, trunk, or any other area
where personal property may be stored. Officers are permitted to open closed containers whose contents cannot be asce rtained from an exterior inspection
alone.
c. Item(s) found shall be noted on the SPD 188. Officers shall include in their report:
(1) all items of value found.(2) if no items of value are found.(3) the circumstances if an inventory is not conducted (e.g., destruction of
possible evidence, search warrant being obtained, vehicl e locked, etc.).
d. Subjects will not be allowed to remove item s that are part of the vehicle (e.g. car
stereos, spare tires, etc.).
e. The tow truck driver shall be gi ven the yellow copy of the SPD 188.
3. An SPD 188 shall not be prepared when a ci tizen requests assistance for a disabled
vehicle.
4. Officers shall ensure the tow information or advisement of the vehicle location is entered
on the incident history.
5. Supervisors shall review, approve, and route the completed reports to the Records
Section. If an officer cannot complete the SPD 188 because the DMV computer system is
inoperative or the vehicle is registered out of state, the officer shall complete a
supplementary report to document this fact.
SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDERS
G.O. 536.02
2 OF 46. The Records Section shall:
a. send “Notice of Stored Vehicle” letters to the registered owner of record and the
legal owner of reco rd of the vehicle.
b. forward a copy of all Motor Vehicle Reports to the appropriate section.
7. All inquiries about the release of recover ed, stored, impounded or asset seized vehicles
shall be referred to the section responsible fo r any required follow up investigation (e.g.
hit and run to Traffic, rape to SACA, etc.).
C. RECOVERY OF STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLES
1. Officers who locate an unocc upied stolen vehicle shall recove r the vehicle immediately,
unless the watch commander approves a delay.a. The reason for the delay shall be clearly articulated to the watch commander;
public safety shall be the primary concern.
b. The officer shall cause a miscellaneous comment to be added to the call history
explaining the delay.
2. When an officer is assigned to process a stol en motor vehicle recovery, the dispatcher
shall provide the officer with the information contained in the SVS.
3. The officer making the recovery may attempt to locate the owner of a recovered motor
vehicle.
4. The Records Section shall:
a. make one (1) attempt by telephone to notify the owner of a recovered vehicle of
the storage location. The result of the not ification attempt shall be entered in the
miscellaneous field of the SV S recovery/locate message.
b. comply with 10500 VC and forward a letter postmarked within twenty four hours
of receipt of information regarding the recovery, excluding weekends/holidays,
notifying the owner of the reco vered vehicle and storage location.
5. Vehicle Crimes Unit pers onnel who determine that an abandoned vehicle is stolen shall
either:a. comply with sections C.4.(a)&(b) above, orb. immediately notify the Records Sect ion who shall make the appropriate
notifications.
6. Recovered stolen vehicles shall not be processed for fingerprints unless:
a. the vehicle was known to be involved in a serious crime, including carjacking.
b