The UH Department of Public Safety’s Lost and Found unit receives so many umbrellas that they have resorted to closet space rather than drawers to house them. The Lost and Found is also home to multitudes of cell phones, glasses, textbooks, laptops and keys, among many other things.
With a new computer database for lost items, the DPS is finding more success in reuniting students with their belongings.
“We have revamped our Lost and Found system, as far as the data entry and retrieval,” Lt. Patrick Lollie said. “The older system (made it) hard to connect a known property to a person. Now, it’s easier to connect.”
In the new system, a lost item goes into a electronic database that can be searched by different criteria.
“Now it will give me everything that matches that criteria, instead of having to try to chase down a piece of paper that has that description on it,” Lollie said.
While the Lost and Found has a high success rate with unique and valuable items, students do not always come to claim the belongings that turn up. After a certain amount of time, the items are donated to charity.
“We didn’t just throw it in the trash or say, ‘Hey this is nice. I’ll keep that,’” Lollie said. “It would probably make you feel good to know that it went to a worthy cause.”
Students can turn in lost items at any of the locations on campus and check if a lost item has turned up by coming into the UHDPS station or calling over the phone.
With the new system, all Lost and Found locations are now connected to where items can be tracked, especially if someone came in to report a missing item.
“We’ll put that person’s information in, and if we get it later, we can call,” Lollie said. “It’s easier now for us to get it back to them.”
