Police launch lost property site

The scheme is expected to save the police time and resources

A new website which aims to reunite people with lost property has been launched by Avon and Somerset police.

The site, reportmyloss.com, is expected to save time and resources which can be redirected into policing matters.

Users can upload detailed descriptions and photographs of their lost items free of charge.

The force said it received about 42,000 reports of lost property a year, which is estimated to take about 1,000 staff days to process.

The scheme should also make it easier for police to match found items with their owners.

Reducing fraud

For people without internet access, officers will continue to record lost property, but commitment to this area will be greatly reduced.

Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts said: "This system has the potential to go national which would have obvious enormous benefits.

"Locally, of course, it should have an instant impact in freeing-up police time to deal with other important issues that are being identified through our Safer, Stronger Neighbourhoods work."

The new scheme will produce a unique serial number in each case, acceptable for insurance claims.

It is also expected to cut down on insurance fraud and other fraud through multiple claims.

Adrian Portlock, director of software company Recipero, which created the site, said: "We are confident that it will have a massive impact on recovery of lost property, prevention of fraud and detection of crime."