RCW 63.21.050 Duties of chief law enforcement officer receiving found property.

(1) The chief law enforcement officer or his or her designated representative to whom a finder surrenders property, must:

(a) Advise the finder if the found property is illegal for him or her to possess;

(b) Advise the finder if the found property is to be held as evidence in judicial or other official proceedings;

(c) Advise the finder in writing of the procedures to be followed in claiming the found property;

(d) If the property is valued at one hundred dollars or less adjusted for inflation under subsection (2) of this section, allow the finder to retain the property if it is determined there is no reason for the officer to retain the property;

(e) If the property exceeds one hundred dollars adjusted for inflation under subsection (2) of this section in value and has been requested to be surrendered to the law enforcement agency, retain the property for sixty days before it can be claimed by the finder under this chapter, unless the owner has recovered the property;

(f) If the property is held as evidence in judicial or other official proceedings, retain the property for sixty days after the final disposition of the judicial or other official proceeding, before it can be claimed by the finder or owner under the provisions of this chapter;

(g) After the required number of days have passed, and if no owner has been found, surrender the property to the finder according to the requirements of this chapter; or

(h) If neither the finder nor the owner claim the property retained by the officer within thirty days of the time when the claim can be made, the property must be disposed of as unclaimed property under chapter 63.32 or 63.40 RCW.

(2)(a) The office of financial management must adjust the dollar thresholds established in subsection (1)(d) and (e) of this section for inflation every five years, beginning July 1, 2025, based upon changes in the Seattle consumer price index during that time period. The office of financial management must calculate the new dollar threshold and transmit the new dollar threshold, rounded up to the nearest dollar, to the office of the code reviser for publication in the Washington State Register at least one month before the new dollar threshold is to take effect.

(b) For the purposes of determining the thresholds in subsection (1)(d) and (e) of this section, the chief law enforcement officer or his or her designated representative must use the latest thresholds published by the office of financial management in the Washington State Register under (a) of this subsection.

[ 2019 c 30 § 1; 1979 ex.s. c 85 § 5.]