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SALT LAKE CITY — Evidence is hugely important to make sure cases that do go to court are properly examined. However, when those cases are finished, investigators try to get personal items back to the owner, but it isn't always easy.
The Salt Lake City Police Department evidence room a lot like many archives rooms, such as the one at your local library or even the one here at KSL. Items are put on shelves which you can move by spinning a wheel.
But you want to keep things stored in archives forever. Most of the stuff police store, they want to get rid of.
Five years into her job as one of Salt Lake Police's evidence technicians, Kim Crispin is amazed at what she sees.
"If you can name it, we've probably gotten it at some point," Crispin.
Most of the items are sealed and kept in paper bags. Evidence from murder cases are kept forever, but after minor cases, like thefts, it can be tough to find who the real owner is.
"If we know an owner, then we try to return it to the owner," Crispin said.
Many times, though, things like backpacks, skateboards or suitcases — you name it — never get returned. When that happens, items get destroyed, or in the case of clothing, donated to local shelters.
"We have to get authorization from the prosecutor's office and through the follow-up detective before the property is disposed," she said.
Detective Mike Hamideh says the evidence room, though, is mostly full of lost and found items.
"We've had cash that has come to us, "Hamideh said. "We've had wallets that still have the cash inside."
SLCPD's evidence room isn't set up so you can just go in there to see if they have your item. You have to report it missing with as much description as possible. Then, if they have it, they will call you.
Recently, a bunch of lost items, like watches, keys and cell phones, were given to police from the organizers of the Twilight Concert Series. Police just wish they were turned in right away.
"We had a lot of people who were calling for lost keys, lost phones, that we may now have those items, but have no way of finding them," Hamideh said.
But that doesn't keep them from trying.
"We're not hiding this stuff," Crispin said. "We don't want to keep this stuff. We want to give it back to the owner, so if we can't find it, it's not because we don't want to give it to you."
