The Police Communications Center serves as a repository of campus-wide lost and found items. Once a week, staff checks with more than two dozen lost and found contacts in almost every campus building, to see if they have any lost and found to turn over. The property is then picked up and brought back to the police station for processing. Depending on the type of item, the property may be held from one day to 3 months, before being disposed of.
The retention period and manner of disposal depends on the item. But most fall into the following table:
- Bicycles, book bags, backpacks, books, calculators, cameras, portable music players, electronics, jewelry, umbrellas, watches – held for 3 months, then sold at auction.
- Check books, payroll checks, charge cards, operator’s licenses, ID cards, license plates, bank cards, etc. – held up to 30 days, then returned to issuing agency or destroyed.
- Clothing and eyeglasses – held up to 10 days, then donated to charity.
- Keys and medications – held up to 3 months, then destroyed.
All unclaimed money goes into the Police Department’s Crime Prevention fund after 90 days. The proceeds of all lost and found property auctions also go into this fund. For information on pending University auctions or public sales, please visit the UT Surplus Property sale page.
