Governmentauctionsusa.com Reveals How Police Are Profiting From The Web.

Governmentauctionsusa.com Reveals How Police Are Profiting From The Web.

Made in China. Stolen in Fort Lauderdale. And Lauderhill. And Coral Springs.

The booty of South Florida crime victims is for sale on the Internet, on a Web site called propertyroom.com.

At least, that's what the Web site is called for those who want to take advantage of someone else's suffering. For the victims, the people who want their stolen jewelry and goods returned, the site can be accessed at stealitback.com.

The site specializes in helping police departments dispose of unclaimed property.

"Somebody may lose a purse and it may have a cell phone in it, or someone may lose a briefcase and it may have a computer in it," said Michael Rigg, property room supervisor for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

If a pair of jeans is used as evidence in a court case, they're set free on the Web site 90 days after the case is over.

The departments end up with hordes of goods. A prolific purse snatcher, for example, might get busted one day, and the arresting agency is left with the watches, jewels, cell phones, Diana Ross Christmas Music CD (first bid: $1) and maybe a few fancy pens.

Gauging from the Internet offerings, chemical-biological gas masks appear to be a popular leftover for police agencies (starting at $10), as are glow sticks ($2.25 for 100 of them) and mysterious looking silver briefcases ($5).

Fort Lauderdale officials have decided crime pays a much higher return when they use propertyroom.com for auctioning unclaimed goods. The city decided in January to drop the old method of live auctions, contracting for another year with the Web site.

Rigg said live auctions are still used for cars.

Fort Lauderdale has lots of local company. The client list, according to CEO Thomas Lane, includes the Broward Sheriff's Office, Boynton Beach, Coral Springs, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Lighthouse Point, Miramar, North Bay Village, North Palm Beach, Pembroke Pines, Plantation and South Miami.

"Most of us are short on space and it frees up our space," Rigg said.

The Web site could be dangerous for impulse shoppers. Could they possibly log off without bidding on the pink gurney? The collection of disposable lighters? The wedding and engagement rings somehow detached from their rightful owners?

In Fort Lauderdale's case, the city gets half the payoff when an item sells. In the first year the service was used by Fort Lauderdale's Police Department, the city earned $9,759, according to a December memo from police officials to the city manager. Compare that to the live spring auctions of 2002, which generated $7,600 total.

BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal said the Web site, similar to eBay but with a police bent, is more "effective and easier" than live auctions.

Anyone who can prove the items on the Web site belong to them can retrieve them, according to the stealitback.com rules. But Lane said that doesn't happen very often.

The California-based company is opening a warehouse in Orlando in two weeks, to expand service in Florida and allow buyers to pick items up to avoid shipping.

What's the weirdest item they've sold?

"Everybody asks that question," said Lane. "Police departments are very conservative. We're not gonna get those weird things. Those kind of things are going to be destroyed."

For more Information go to http://www.usa-government-auctions.com.