Devon and Cornwall Police Auctions

Devon & Cornwall Constabulary has joined Bumblebee Auctions, the PITO sponsored site that has been set up to allow the UK Police to sell unclaimed property.

Bumblebee Auctions has been buzzing with interest since its launch on the Force website, raising £19,000 from the sale of items including jewellery, power tools and bikes.

The site was developed to increase public accessibility and efficiently dispose of unclaimed property, while generating funds to help cut crime.

Police prefer to return property to the rightful owners, but sometimes this is not possible.

Any money raised through Bumblebee is returned to the area from where the item originated. Money will be reallocated to that area’s budget and invested in new initiatives.

Property officer Brian Moore is the driving force behind the introduction of the system. He said: “Before Bumblebee we used various auction houses and some items couldn’t be sold. Bumblebee keeps overheads down, bidding on items is now available to a much wider audience and the system is also more transparent.

“Since going live, we have generated at least 50% more income and we can now sell popular items that we couldn’t previously such as computer bits and new clothing.”