Having avoided crime reporting like the plague throughout my reporting career, I had never been inside the Atlanta Police Department’s Property Control Unit until Thursday. It is a warehouse ( in an undisclosed location) packed with televisions, computers, clothing, cell phones, tools and thousands of other items that have been stolen or are being held as evidence in pending court cases. There were even a few ATM’s!
Some of the items are later claimed by their rightful owners but thousands of others are auctioned off on propertyroom.com, a website started by a former police officer in 1999. The site, which is based in California, features items from thousands of law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
Propertyroom.com is similar to EBay but the payment system is different. Those who bid must register a credit card number first and the high bidder’s credit card is automatically billed. The website keeps a portion of the proceeds and returns the rest to the law enforcement agency.
Browsing through the site, I saw some pretty amazing deals on jewelry in particular as well as electronics and tools. But I also felt a little bad; I mean, most of this stuff was stolen from people who, for whatever reason, never got it back. It reminds me of the old “it fell of a truck” type of sale we used to see before internet sales became popular. Still, buying on propertyroom.com is perfectly legal; a judge has to approve each sale. And Lt. Van Hobbs, who oversees the unit, tells me Georgia law prohibits donating evidence items to charity (like the thousands of kids’ bikes stolen each year.)
The stolen property is sold at auction only after it has been in the property unit for 90 days and all attempts to contact the rightful owner have been exhausted, including a public notice in a local newspaper.
Each listing on propertyroom.com indicates the condition of the item. Some fine jewelry pieces even have appraisals. Sales are final in most cases.
Hobbs said if a crime victim spots their own stolen property on propertyroom.com and can prove it, it will be returned to them. The website also has a section where people can register the serial numbers of their computer, television and other household items. That way if their items are stolen and later end up on propertyroom.com the company will match up the serial numbers and return them to the original owner.
I wonder if many of the crime victims whose property is on the site got their insurance money and moved on?
Anyway, buying stolen property is legal and can be a bargain. (Buyer beware obviously) It is a bit icky, perhaps, but I’m tempted to browse and check it out. Before the story airs at 11pm.
What do you think?
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My brother is still in the hospital due to bleeding complications he will need a blood transfusion, so we will have to wait and see what happens
over the next couple of days. He is holding on to his spirits and really looking forward to going home. His pain was really bad yesterday and for
some reason just didn’t get under control but he is much better today (as far as the pain in concerned). Once his blood count gets back to a safe
level, they will try to get him up again and get him using the crutches. I have some other news to tell as well, but that will have to wait until
tomorrow..stay well all
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My brother’s surgery went very well, they say he should make a full recovery, although that will take a long time. He did have excessive bleeding
during the operation so they are going to be watching him real careful for the next 24 hours. He is in a lot of pain, but glad it is over and he can
now look towards the road to recovery. It was a long night as I stayed at the hospital with him, but it was good and I was able to be there when
he woke in the middle of the night and just needed someone to talk to. I am home for a little while and then going back to see him later tonight.
He needed some rest after the surgery. I will keep you posted on his progress and then back to focusing on gym and my skills, he would not
want me to loose any more gym time for this. Thank you everyone for their prayers and support.
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The summer has been somewhat uneventful, work, school, gymnastics, family time and time with friends. But yesterday life became eventful.
My brother, who lives in Cumming, GA was hit by a car while out for his morning bike ride. The driver either did not see him or something, the
driver was sited in the accident. My brother, who races bikes and was to carry the tourch for the 1996 Olympic tourch relay. Never saw it coming
As he was making a turn the driver rear ended his bike and sent him flying. You see my brother has been an inspiration for me. When I broke my
leg he was the one I talked to, because you see hit was hit by a car in 1996, the night before he was to ride the tourch, an event that changed his life,
so he knew what I was going through or about to go through emotionally and physically, I had no idea if all of it would change my life, and he did…
thank you Todd. I am hoping now that I can be there for him as he moves forward in his recovery, you see he broke his hip in 3 places
and they are deciding today if they should do a hip replacement, try to pin in back together or what. So the operation should be today or
tomorrow, depending oh how his body is from the trauma and if his body is ready for it. Well off training, because he would not want me to miss
that, and then work….Thank you to my friends as they kept my mind off things with a TWILIGHT PARTY….thanks everyone..
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