Have you lost something around campus and wondered if someone took it to the Lost and Found?
Now there’s a new way for you to find out if the UOPD has your item. A Lost and Found website can be found here, where students can type in what they’re looking for and the system will search the inventory for it.
UOPD spokesman Kelly McIver said this prevents students from having to come all the way to the UOPD station on 15th Avenue and Walnut Street just to check if anyone turned in their things.
UOPD obtained the Lost and Found in September 2017 from its previous location at the Department of Parking and Transportation.
McIver said this transition made sense due to the police station operating 24/7 as opposed to the 5 p.m. closing time of the Department of Parking and Transportation and its lack of weekend hours.
McIver also noted the training UOPD employees receive is another reason their office is the best place for this service.
Because officers and employees are trained in handling evidence and properly inventorying it, “UOPD has an advantage over other departments,” said McIver. Granted that training, UOPD ensures that all items can be stored securely and returned to their proper owners.
McIver said the resource sees a spike in inventory after athletic events and public events where people, not even specifically students, drop or lose a lot of things.
While McIver said most of the inventory is coats and umbrellas, UOPD keeps other things that offices previously might have thrown away. McIver suggests that all students check the website to be sure if their lost items were turned in.
“It used to be that it was only kind of higher value items that would get forwarded to Parking and Transportation and kept for release,” said McIver. “The nice thing now is that everything gets kept – everything gets logged, except for perishable things, like half a sandwich.”
Follow Becca Robbins on Twitter: @brobbinsuo