property seizures

When a police officer seizes or takes custody of property (reg 69 Police Regulations 2014):

A record of the property must be made;
The property must be kept in a manner and place approved by the Commissioner and;
A receipt must be issued as soon as reasonably practicable to the person from whom the property was received, seized or otherwise obtained.

If the police seize or take custody of your property, always ask for a copy of the receipt.

Various provisions exist for the disposal of property that is in the custody of SA Police for investigatory or evidentiary purposes (reg 72). When property is no longer required for these purposes, it must be disposed of in accordance with any court order that may be made, or retained for as long as proceedings to determine the ownership of the property may be ongoing, if commenced (reg 72(a) and (b)).

However, subject to the requirements outlined above, if a person appears to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to be the owner, the property must be returned, unless that person cannot be located after reasonable inquiry or does not exercise their right to recover the property (reg 72(c)(i)).

In cases where seized property is unclaimed, specific rules for disposal apply. "Unclaimed property" is defined as property that has been in the custody of SA Police for at least two months and:

(a) there is no person who appears, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, to be the owner of the property; or
(b) there is such a person, but that person has not been located after reasonable inquiry; or
(c) there is such a person, but that person has not exercised their right to recover the property.

The Commissioner may cause any unclaimed property in the custody of SA Police to be retained for use by SA Police or sold, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of at such time and in such manner as the Commissioner thinks fit (reg 76(1)).

Despite these regulations, if the seized property is such that no one is lawfully entitled to it or if the owner is not known, cannot be located, or does not exercise their right to recover the property and the property is perishable, dangerous, not reasonably practicable or unduly costly to retain, or is an electronic device or equipment capable of storing or recording information or data that may be accessed by a person, the Commissioner has the discretion to sell, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the property (reg 73).

Even if property has become unclaimed property, the Commissioner may exercise discretion to return the property or the proceeds of sale (reg 79).

Last revised: May 2023