The Cary Police Department considers the care and control of property and evidence to be a high priority in policing. In order to control this process as effectively and efficiently as possible, all property or evidence associated with a crime is sent to one central location for processing and storage. The evidence and property custodian is responsible for the care, custody and control of all property recovered by the department and all evidence generated during the investigation of a crime. Property is generally an item which was stolen and then recovered by a citizen or police officer, or an item which was found by citizen and turned over to the police department. The Cary Police Department recovers hundreds of pieces of property each year, including bicycles, tools and stereo equipment.
Bicycles are the most commonly recovered items.
When property is turned in to the department, it is booked into a secure room for safekeeping while the police attempt to locate the owner. In some cases the property is easily traced to the owner and released in a matter of days. In other cases no information exists to begin a search, so the property remains unclaimed. Once all legal processes are completed, unclaimed property is either destroyed or sold at public auction. All proceeds from the property sold, as well as unclaimed found money, are awarded to the Wake County Public School System as prescribed by law.