Cops wont return burglarized items they have recovered

April 2, 2009 1:52 PM

How can I get the stuff cops recovered from a burglary at my place? (in Silicon Valley, Ca)

A few months ago my place was burglarized. I was able to connect to two of the stolen laptops thru the web and with the info I gathered the cops were able to recover them (tho nothing else).

Its been 5 months and the cops are still holding onto the laptops. The investigator that was so helpful during recovery no longer returns my calls. when I get him on the phone he is obviously annoyed but wont give me a date when they will be returned. He says they are part of an ongoing investigation. THe people at the police station tell me that only the investigator can authorize their release. I feel I am getting the runaround.

What are my options? The investigator was very helpful during recovery so I dont want to seem like an ingrate and go the "let me speak to your superiors" route.

posted by Pasa la bola chetu to law & government (12 comments total)

They are evidence, if the investigator thinks anyone will ever go to trial for this, chances are you won't get the laptops back till after the court case is over.
posted by nomisxid at 2:04 PM on April 2

So, what's the point of ever working with the cops on a robbery case?
posted by pointless_incessant_barking at 2:14 PM on April 2 [4 favorites]

If you have the police report number, you can try calling the district attorney's office to see if they can give you an idea of if/when the case will go to trial. Be nice, don't badmouth the investigator, and act like a Concerned Citizen Who Just Wants To Help, and Also Get Their Stuff Back.
posted by rtha at 2:24 PM on April 2

When the cops recovered my stolen radar detector it was six to nine months before I got it back. At first I thought it was just because it was a radar detector, but they really were holding on to it until after the thief was convicted. It's the DA who controls this and that is where you want to direct your inquiries.
posted by caddis at 2:31 PM on April 2

what's the point?

1. no evidence at trial means thief is back out on the street, and he/she knows that you won't help send him to jail, so he just keeps stealing from you?

2. if you had insurance, you wouldn't be waiting for the stolen originals, you'd buy replacements and let the insurance company handle disposing of the original assets after the trial, as part of their efforts to recover their losses.

Since these are computers, what's really important is the data, and you could try asking the investigator if they'd give you images of the hard drives, to install in fresh machines.
posted by nomisxid at 2:32 PM on April 2

So, what's the point of ever working with the cops on a robbery case?

Seriously? Did you really just question the value of helping people in jail who break into other people's houses to steal their belongings because, god, it doesn't get you what you want rightthissecond?

Is the benefit to society of convicting thieves really lost on you?

If it really needs to be put in terms of your own personal pecuniary interest, the OP will eventually get the laptops back, insurance or not, which is better than never getting them back, which is the likely result of not helping the police.
posted by toomuchpete at 2:59 PM on April 2

Echoing what others have said and elaborating a bit: The police (including the investigator) are not the ones who get to make the decision about the return of your property. By now your case has been turned over to the district attorney (or county attorney depending on the size of your jurisdiction and how the agencies are set up) -- they are the ones who will be prosecuting the case. Call your district attorney's office (or county attorney's office if applicable) and explain your situation. If not having access to your data is a hardship for you, explain that too. Be courteous and calm, and persistent. If they can't allow you to take back the laptops yet, they might agree to let you copy your data files.
posted by amyms at 3:09 PM on April 2

Maybe I am missing something here. If you car is stolen, you get it back, right? Why is this any different?
posted by bh at 3:44 PM on April 2

Why the heck do they need physical evidence recovered from a burglar? They have the person who identified the item's as theirs - they have the actual burglary, they have the fact that the identified items were found in the possession of the burglar. They can take copious pictures, they can record the serial numbers, and I assume that they can "dust for prints" or whatever it is they do (although that seems excessive considering the items were found in the possession of someone else), so what's the point of actually holding on to the physical items?

I've never heard of stolen items being held as evidence. I've known folks that have had their stolen items brought back directly to them by the officer who found them - right after they found them. This sound more like a SNAFU to me - are you sure they still even have the laptops?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:02 PM on April 2 [3 favorites]

Why the heck do they need physical evidence recovered from a burglar? They have the person who identified the item's as theirs - they have the actual burglary, they have the fact that the identified items were found in the possession of the burglar. They can take copious pictures, they can record the serial numbers, and I assume that they can "dust for prints" or whatever it is they do (although that seems excessive considering the items were found in the possession of someone else), so what's the point of actually holding on to the physical items?

A tight chain of custody makes proof at trial easy. The DA can prove up the case without that so that is why you call the DA. They may very well release the items to you.
posted by caddis at 4:20 PM on April 2

Except as pointed out above you get your car back right away. Stolen livestock too.
posted by fshgrl at 9:15 PM on April 2

Because I have yet to see a prosecutor bring a car or a large cow into the courtroom as evidence?
posted by flibbertigibbet at 8:17 AM on April 3