Recovered Money shall be handled as follows.

Currency Inventory Report Form:

All money turned into the property room shall be placed in a Saint Paul Police Department currency envelope and will include an inventory bar code label. Because property room personnel will not recount the currency, the recovering officer(s) are responsible for the count. All monies being turned into the property room shall be turned into the designated money safe [redacted].

  • For amounts under $1,000.00, the recovering officer shall always count the money, complete and sign the currency envelope, place the money in the envelope and then seal the money envelope with the designated SPPD money tape.
  •  An additional verifying signature is required for any money count.
  • For amounts under $1,000.00, an additional verifying signature is required for the count. This verification can be made by any officer (or designated inventory officer) and does not have to be made by a ranking officer.
  • For amounts over $1,000.00 the currency envelope requires the signature of a person at least one rank higher than the person making the original count.
  • The recovering officer shall always document both the amount of the money recovered into evidence and the verifying officer or ranking officer on the appropriate original or supplemental report form.

Inventory Officer Defined:

In cases where large amounts of currency are recovered, or when many items are seized, the need for one or more officers to inventory property/evidence may become necessary, e.g., search warrants, complex crime scenes, etc. In these cases, officers may be assigned the role of inventory officer in order to accurately account for recovered property/evidence. The inventory officer shall assure the chain of custody is maintained and departmental property inventory procedures are followed. Accordingly, the inventory officer shall count all money when received, and shall follow the procedures of reporting and disposition as stated in this general order.

Unusual Circumstances:

In any situation where the actual value of the money cannot be determined, but the estimated value is more than $1,000, the above procedures will be followed. Both the recovering officer and the supervisor who verifies the circumstances shall indicate in a report the unusual circumstances and their actions.

Coins that cannot be counted for some particular reason may be turned in uncounted. If necessary, the bulk coins can be weighed on a scale in the gym or forensic services unit and turned in by weight. (e.g. 26 lbs. loose coins). The property room staff will coordinate the need to tally the value of the coins. Money that might possibly be processed for fingerprints or for drug residue should never be placed in plastic or other airtight packaging. The trapped moisture can destroy this type of evidence.

Money that has been secreted in a body cavity, contaminated by blood, urine, vomit or other hazardous materials, shall be packaged in a manner to prevent any spread of the contamination. The outer packaging material shall clearly display warning or biohazard labels.

Money having collectors value or worth above face value shall still be handled as money. No person shall substitute modern money that has no numismatic value for money that has collector value or higher than face amount value. (i.e., substituting clad coins for pure silver coins).

Officers should note on top of the money envelope that the money contained is, to the best of the officers knowledge, potentially of collector value.

  • Officers should not mix collector coins or foreign currency with U.S. currency in the same envelope. One envelope for collector money, one for foreign currency, and one for U.S. currency shall be used in the instance when multiple forms of currency are recovered. It will be the recovering officer s decision as to money being of collector value.
  • If there is doubt, the money should be considered collector and the case investigator can arrange for an expert evaluation.
  • U.S. currency, foreign currency, and collector money shall be stored in the property room money safe. Jewelry shall be stored in the property room jewelry safe. Both of which shall also be kept locked at all times and only the property room supervisor has access to them.

All monies which appear to have collectors value will be retained in the property room unit rather than transferred to the trust account. These monies will be logged in the property room unit s cash journal with their value being logged at face value. All foreign coins and monies, except Canadian money, will be logged by item count (Example -- 22 foreign coins). No monetary value will be shown. Officers shall not mix foreign money with American money in the same money envelope, two envelopes will be required. Money envelopes with foreign currency shall be labeled across the top with FOREIGN MONEY clearly written. All stamp collections or accumulation will be handled the same as monies (Example -- 1 stamp collection of about 1400 stamps).

In the event any unusual circumstances develop regarding large amounts of valuables or money, the property room supervisor or watch commander shall be consulted for advice. Note: Exceptional cases may require a call-back on the part of the property room [redacted]. Both the recovering officer or designated inventory officer and the watch commander and/or property room supervisor (if applicable) shall document their actions in dealing with unusual circumstances involving large amounts of valuables or money in an original or supplemental report.

Property Room Procedures Defined:

The property room supervisor will be responsible for establishing a tickler file for monies turned into the property room. Unless notice has been received from the assigned investigator in writing within 30 days that monies in the custody of the Saint Paul Police Department is evidence that may undergo forensic examination or may be introduced at a legal proceeding, the money shall be deposited into a commercial bank account. The property room supervisor shall maintain an electronic ledger which will include a running total of all monies contained in the vault located in the property room.

Any monies in the custody of the property room supervisor for more than 30 days will be removed from inventory, counted and verified by two inspectors from the office of the chief. The currency envelope submitted with the money by the recovering officer will be verified by the inspectors as to the amount contained in the envelope. The inspectors will also verify the amount recorded on the electronic ledger, and if the count is accurate, sign-off on the amount recorded by the property room supervisor.

[Redacted].

The Treasury Department will deposit the funds into a designated bank. If amount counted by the bank differs from the sum total of the inspectors count, the bank is to notify City Hall Offices of Financial Affairs of the discrepancy. They in turn will notify Fiscal Affairs of the discrepancy of the final monies count that was deposited

Inspection unit personnel shall not open an envelope containing contaminated monies. These moneys should be left in the original sealed money envelope. Make sure it is clearly marked as contaminated and deposit it with City Hall Offices of Financial Affairs of the Treasury Department. The bank will notify Financial Affairs if there are any discrepancies.

In the event the amount of money indicated in Evidence Manager does not match the actual cash value in the currency envelope, or any other discrepancies are noted, the submitting officer will be notified. The officer whose name is on the property report as the submitting officer will be contacted and advised to report to the property room to recount the money.

If the amount recounted is different from the officer s original count, the officer will write a supplemental report indicating the amount presently in the currency envelope and explain the reason for the discrepancy. The ledger will then be corrected by the property room supervisor and verified by an inspector.

Revised June 7, 2016

Last Edited: March 20, 2017