Guns, cash and drugs seized by PAPS as part of a 2020 investigation. (Submitted photo/Prince Albert Police Service)

By Alison Sandstrom

Curiosity Club

Curiosity Club: What do police do with confiscated items?

May 1, 2021 | 10:00 AM

For our Curiosity Club series, paNOW has asked you, our readers, to guide our reporting by telling us what you’re wondering about. In this edition, we’ll answer a question from a Facebook user who wants to know what police do with confiscated items.

Every year the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) seizes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen and illegal goods, but what happens to it all?

As Constable Derek Simonson told paNOW, that depends on the item and the case.

“There are federal and provincial statutes that guide us in seizing property,” Simonson said. “And we need to follow those laws to know how to properly seize and handle that property, and most importantly return it back to the rightful owner if we can at the end.”

The Prince Albert Police Service seized 37 bikes in 2020. (Submitted photo/Derek Simonson)

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Storing and maintaining evidence

Items that are part of a criminal investigation are stored in the PAPS “property and exhibit unit.”

The unit is comprised of a large room full of lockers, along with a compound and a garage for bigger items like cars or lawnmowers.

“We have to ensure that nothing happens to that property, that it’s maintained in its integrity and that we can use it for court to supplement our evidence,” he said.

A full-time custodian manages the collection, overseeing intake and categorizing items so they can be readily available when needed for court purposes. Typically only the custodian has access to keys for the lockers, Simonson said.

Once court proceedings are complete, what happens next depends on the item.

Tools in the Property and Exhibit Unit. (Submitted photo/Derek Simonson)

Stolen property

After the court case, stolen property– like jewelry, power tools, or bikes– is returned to its owner.

However, Simonson says sometimes the owner can’t be located, or the item is in such a condition that they don’t want it back. When that happens, the item is either disposed of, destroyed, or it becomes part of the City of P.A.’s annual auction. The spring event also includes used, obsolete and surplus items from other city departments. Proceeds from the auction go to city coffers, not directly to police.

Items can sometimes stay in the Property and Exhibit Unit for over a year, depending on the how long court process takes. (Submitted photo/Derek Simonson)

Money

Simonson said when police seize money, it’s usually part of a drug investigation.

Last year, PAPS seized $316,559 worth of cash related to 110 drug seizures.

In the event someone is found not guilty, that cash may be returned to them, Simonson said.

If there’s a guilty verdict or plea, those dollars are “forfeited” and go into a provincial pot of money, which police services can receive grants from.

“For example, if the province of Saskatchewan sees $3.5 million in drug money over the course of the year, then– we have to apply for it– but it can come back to police services in relation to assisting in buying equipment, updating training and things like that,” he said.

How much individual police services are eligible for isn’t based on how much they’ve collected. Usually bigger cities get higher amounts just because they have more expenses, Simonson said.

A chart shows the number of guns seized by the Prince Albert Police Service by year. (Data source: Prince Albert Police Service)

Guns

Destruction of firearms is typically done by the court, Simonson says. Sometimes, if for example the gun is stolen, it may be returned to its rightful owner.

“But in the case of it being destroyed it goes to a particular place, and I don’t know where that place is, and it’s either melted down, crushed, or cut up so that it’s rendered no longer usable,” he said.

A chart shows the amount of drugs by weight seized by Prince Albert Police Service in 2020. (Data source: Prince Albert Police Service)

Drugs

What to do with drug seizures is in some ways simpler than other items. Illegal drugs are never returned to their former owners, even if someone is found not guilty.

Drugs are always destroyed, with incineration being one common method, Simonson said.

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alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom