LOST/FOUND ARTICLES

Every security department has a unique procedure concerning lost and found articles. No matter the policy, it is critical for security officers to follow the policy explicitly and to document all facts surrounding the property.

Typically the following elements are part of any lost and found policy:

FOUND ITEMS

  1. When a security officer is given property that has been found, an Incident Report should be written containing the name, address and phone number of the person who found the items.
  2. All contents of the item should be counted and inventoried (if possible with the person who found the item as a witness). If a billfold or purse has been found, the contents of the billfold, including the amount of cash (the number of ones, fives, tens, etc.) should be inventoried and all credit cards, driver’s license, etc. also accounted for.
  3. The lost items should be placed in a container or clear plastic bag that can be sealed with the date, time and officer’s signature placed on the top of the container.
  4. Some security departments may have another officer from a Control Center come to pickup the item(s). Again, all items should be counted and documented by two persons, preferably security officers.
  5. Whenever found items are stored for safekeeping, the process should again be witnessed by at least one other person.

 

6- security officer should never retrain found items and fail to notify a superior in the hope or assumption that the person who misplaced the property will come to retrieve the items

that same day. When anything of value is turned into security, notify a supervisor or other security personnel, employer, or client, as soon as possible and document all items!

This is for your own protection as much as anything else, so that you can never be accused

of pocketing found items.