NOT AN ORDINARY GARAGE SALE

BPD eyes online vendor to sell unclaimed evidence

The Boston Police Department is looking to set up its own version of eBay to auction off unclaimed property now taking up space in its evidence warehouse, but a civil liberties expert cautioned that cops need to make sure the lure of sales revenue doesn’t trump people’s rights.

According to bid documents, BPD is seeking a partner to set up and run an online auction site for “miscellaneous unclaimed property,” with the partner taking a percentage of sales from each item and giving BPD the rest. The bid requires vendors to create the website at no cost to BPD and asks them to submit the percentages they’ll take on sales.

The vendor is also required to inspect, clean and test items up for auction, as well as photograph them and provide descriptions and appraisals for fair market price. BPD Detective Lt. Michael McCarthy did not have details on what kind of items would be sold, but said they included abandoned, found and unclaimed property.

“It is not uncommon for a police department to thin its inventory of property that has come into the possession of the department over the course of a number of years,” McCarthy said in a statement. “On-line auctions are a convenient and increasingly common way to move unwanted property, the BPD is looking to utilize that type of forum to thin its inventory of miscellaneous property.”

Paul Avelar, an attorney for the civil liberties law firm Institute of Justice, said some states have organized police auction sales so the money flows to other city areas — like schools — to discourage using auctions to pad police budgets.

“Whatever system you set up, you have to be aware of the profit incentive and make sure rules are set up to protect people’s property rights from conflict of interest,” Avelar said.

BPD is currently listed as a client of PropertyRoom. com, an online auction house that serves numerous police departments, including those in New York and Baltimore. Items currently up for auction at that site from law enforcement agencies include a 14-karat gold bracelet selling for $455 and official Boston Red Sox Team Yearbooks from 1969 and 1970 selling for $13.

The BPD bid calls for the vendor to create an online registry so residents can search for their lost or stolen property and make claims before items are sold, and it requires them to return items to people who can prove they are the rightful owners.