The Property Room stores evidence, safekeeping and found property for both the Tacoma Police Department and the Pierce County Sheriff's Departments (to include the contract cities of University Place and Edgewood). Property Officers are responsible for retrieving, securing and storing property and ensuring proper chain-of-custody in the event evidence is needed for court proceedings. Our nine full-time Property Officers and one Office Assistant service 1,790 square miles -- home to approximately 813,600 people.

In addition, the Property Room disposes of narcotics; illegal, unclaimed or unwanted weapons and other property; and endeavor to return found property to the rightful owner(s). Disposal methods include incineration, melting and auction.

The best way to find property once it is lost or stolen is to have up-to-date records, pictures or video noting serial and model numbers if available, or to place an 'owner applied number' on items without a serial number. Unique numbers make identifying and matching items to the rightful owner simpler, as a national database is used to track stolen and recovered items via serial number once the item is reported lost, stolen or found. However, if this information is not available, a detailed description will help, as will a general idea of when and where the property was lost or stolen.

The Property Room holds found property for sixty (60) days, after which time items may be disposed of or auctioned per state law. Items of a personal nature (such as identification or credit cards) are destroyed, or (in the case of passports, military ID's EBT cards, or mail) returned to the proper agency.

To see if the Property Room is holding your found property, please be prepared to answer the following questions:

--What is the property and description?
--Does it have a serial number?
--Where and when was it lost or stolen?
--Did you report it lost or stolen?
--Did you receive a phone call or letter notifying you of the recovery?

The Property Room will make every effort to return property to the rightful owner(s). If an item is turned in where it can be traced back to someone by name, phone number, address or serial number, a Property Officer will attempt to contact the owner via phone or letter to make arrangements to return the item.

Depending on the item's condition, after sixty (60) days the item will either be disposed of or auctioned per state law. The person who finds the property may request to claim the property if an owner is not found within the required time period. Claim paperwork may be obtained from the Property Room by calling (253) 798-7522 (county line) or (253) 591-5984 (city line) and must be filed within seven (7) days of the find.

After receiving claim paperwork, the Property Room will place an ad in the Tacoma News Tribune. If no owner appears within the sixty day time period, the finder has thirty (30) days to claim the item for a $10.00 fee.

If you are a victim, or a defendant on a closed case:

You must file a claim for your property with the originating police agency. Tacoma Police Department claim forms can be obtained from any TPD station. Pierce County Sheriff's Dept claim forms can be obtained from any PCSD station or by clicking here. Review and processing may take up to four (4) weeks. Once the release is obtained, contact the Property Room to schedule an appointment.

Appointments are required for all property releases. The Property Room operates two facilities -- our main office in the basement of the County-City Building, and a large off-site warehouse. Most items are stored at our off-site warehouse, so appointments are necessary to allow for transport time to our office.

In addition, background checks are required for the release of any firearm. This is required even if you possess a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). These checks take approximately forty-eight (48) hours advance notice to complete.

Picture ID (state-issued identification card, driver's license, passport or military ID) is required at time of release. Photocopies are not accepted.