Responsibilities

The Property & Evidence Unit of the Soledad Police Department is responsible for the storage and tracking of all property maintained as evidence, all property kept for safekeeping, and all property that is turned in by members of the department or the public that has been found where no owner can be located. The unit is responsible for submitting items of evidence to the crime laboratory when an officer or investigator requests a particular analysis.

Property & Evidence Retention

Items of evidence are stored until the involved case has been adjudicated or the statute of limitations has expired for the crime investigated. All found property is kept for 90 days. Property taken in for safekeeping is held for 60 days. Unclaimed property that is held beyond those dates is disposed of in accordance with the law.

Release of Property

If you have received a letter from the Property & Evidence Unit indicating that your property can be released, please call (831) 223-5149 to schedule an appointment. The property will be released to the rightful owner, with photo identification such as a driver’s license, ID card, or passport. Because the Property & Evidence Unit has other duties, the property will be released by appointment only.

If you are seeking the return of any property that was taken in as evidence, you must first have a District Attorney disposition stating the property can be released. In some cases, evidence may not be released even after adjudication. If you need to contact the Monterey County District Attorney, you may call them at (831) 755-5070 (Salinas Office) or (831) 647-4770 (Monterey Office).

If a firearm is among the items requested to be returned, a background check must be conducted in order to verify that the legal owner is eligible to possess the firearm. All firearms must be registered. A Law Enforcement Release Application form must be submitted to the Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms via the California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS).

https://cfars.doj.ca.gov