5-03/180.10 - Personal Property Disposition



All personal property of the deceased prisoner other than that which is stored at the Inmate Reception Center (IRC) or Century Regional Detention Center (CRDF) shall be disposed of as follows:

  • Property on the body shall be the responsibility of the deputy having the body in his/her custody, until the body is turned over to the coroner.  This deputy shall be responsible for obtaining two copies of the Coroner's Receipt (76C622) for all items of personal property on the body.  The receipts shall be distributed as follows:
    • The pink copy shall be attached to the unit file copy of the incident report; and,
    • The blue copy shall be given the same Uniform Report Number (URN) as the incident report and shall be forwarded to Records and Identification Bureau (RIB) for inclusion in the case file;
  • Other property at the unit shall be the responsibility of the watch commander of the unit having the prisoner in custody at the time of death.  The watch commander shall confirm that all personal property of the deceased prisoner which is not on the body is immediately collected;
    • When feasible, other property which is immediately available (e.g., property in the prisoner's quarters, cash in safekeeping for an inmate worker, property which was to have been sent to IRC, etc.) should be turned over to the coroner at the time the body is picked up and should be itemized on the coroner's receipt.
  • Other property remaining at the unit shall be delivered to the coroner's main office as soon as possible.  When it is known, the coroner's case number shall be indicated on the property.  Two copies of the coroner's receipt shall be obtained:
    • The pink copy shall be retained as the unit file copy; and
    • The blue copy shall be given the same URN as the incident report and forwarded to RIB for inclusion in the case file.

"Trust Account" money belonging to the deceased shall immediately be routed back through Fiscal Administration to the IRC cashier, together with an explanatory memo.  The unit having such un-receipted trust money shall immediately notify the coroner's main office by phone that additional money belonging to the deceased will be forthcoming from the IRC cashier.  The memo shall indicate that such notification has been made.

  • Property en-route that is in the care of a transportation deputy shall be the responsibility of that deputy;
  • If a prisoner is en-route to IRC or CRDF and is removed from the transportation vehicle due to serious illness or death, his/her property shall be delivered to IRC for handling;
  • When property of a prisoner is transported with the prisoner to a custodial facility outside of Los Angeles County and such prisoner is removed from the transportation vehicle en route because of death or serious illness, the following shall apply:
    • If the prisoner is dead, the body and all property of the deceased shall be turned over to the coroner in charge and two copies of the coroner's receipt shall be obtained for the property.  One copy of the receipt shall be retained for the unit file, and the other shall be given the same URN as the Incident Report and forwarded to RIB for inclusion in the case file; or
    • If the prisoner is seriously ill and is not delivered to the intended destination, the prisoner's property shall be returned to IRC or CRDF together with a memo of explanation which shall include the name and address of the medical facility to which the prisoner was taken.
  • Property stored at IRC or CRDF:
    • Upon receipt of notification of the death of a booked prisoner, the cashier in charge shall be responsible for immediately collecting all stored property of the deceased;
    • This stored property shall be delivered to the coroner's main office as soon as possible and two copies of the coroner's receipt obtained for it.  The receipts shall be distributed as follows:
      • The pink copy shall be retained as the IRC cashier's file copy; and
      • The blue copy shall be given the same URN as the incident report and shall be forwarded to RIB for inclusion in the case file.

NOTE:      When cash is included in the property delivered to the coroner, two copies of the cash receipt shall be obtained and both copies returned to the cashier.  Trust account money returned from other units shall be handled in the same manner.

  • Property held by the property custodian:
    • Upon receipt of notification of the death of a prisoner, the property custodian shall be responsible for immediately collecting any personal property of the deceased prisoner which may be held in storage at the custodian's office.  Such property shall be immediately turned over to the coroner; and
    • The property custodian shall obtain two copies of the coroner's receipt for such property.  The receipts shall be distributed as follows:
      • The pink copy shall be retained as the custodian's file copy; and
      • The blue copy shall be given the same URN as the incident report and shall be forwarded to RIB for inclusion in the case file.