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LOGAN -- Logan police officials say they're out of the surplus-goods auction business.
The police department has contracted with an online bidding company to sell off the bikes, jewelry, electronics and other goods seized in criminal investigations, The Herald Journal of Logan reported.
The partnership with PropertyRoom.com will bring more revenue to the department and save valuable time, Assistant Chief Jeff Curtis said.
We would prefer to get this property back to the rightful owners. If you have a serial number or a photograph, the chances of recovering the property goes way up.
–Brad Franke
"Bikes that we were getting a couple bucks for at police auctions are now selling online for $75," Curtis said. "And we're no longer letting go of a real diamond ring for $4."
Police don't pay to use PropertyRoom.com's services. Company officials say the site has 1.25 million registered shoppers and 26,000 police departments nationwide use the service.
Logan is one of 27 Utah police agencies said to be using the site.
Private property ends up at police stations for a variety of reasons, including stolen goods recovered from burglaries, drug busts, domestic violence and other crimes, North Park Police Sgt. John Italasano said. Most is never reclaimed by owners because police don't know who it belongs to.
"We would prefer to get this property back to the rightful owners," Logan Police Lt. Brad Franke said. "If you have a serial number or a photograph, the chances of recovering the property goes way up."
State laws allows police to sell off or dispose of property if the rightful owner fails to retrieve it within three months.
Last week, Logan police made public a list of 95 items -- bikes, cellphones, iPods, gaming consoles tools and cameras -- it intends to sell through the PropertyRoom site on Aug. 10.
There are no weapons on the list because state law mandates that police chiefs govern the fate of recovered firearms or other weapons, Franke said.
"Weapons are something we're very careful with," Franke said.
Guns associated with homicide, aggravated assault, or suicide are usually destroyed. If a gun can't be sold back to the public, Logan police often trade the weapon with local dealers for credit against future police-grade firearms purchases.
Italasano said his department destroys and disposes of firearms that cannot be sold. He said the firing mechanism is destroyed before the rest of the gun is rendered useless.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
