Items available for purchase online from the police evidence room - Online Offerings from the Assertion Chamber by the Police Department
Shopping at the Police Station: From Bikes to Diapers: The Police's Surprising Second-hand Store
- ⏱️ 3 Min Read
Step into the police station for an unexpected shopping experience! "Want a new set of wheels? Drop by - we might have a match!" taunts Police Chief Commissioner Bernhard Christian Erfort, grinning. But he's not kidding - the cops in Rhineland-Palatinate offer a surprising array of items up for sale online, from bicycles to apparel, even car tires.
These items have a past: Some are leftovers from criminal investigations and can't be identified. They wind up in the evidence room, a term that might give you a shiver if you're a TV junkie, conjuring images of murder weapons, drugs, and evidence in action movies.
Christina Koelsch, standing in Kaiserslautern's usually locked evidence room on a March day, isn't surrounded by weapons. Instead, she's surrounded by stacks of boxes, items on shelves, the floor, and racks. But don't worry, dangerous items are stored elsewhere until the legal system releases them, and then they're destroyed. Drugs, for example, get incinerated.
Shopping Made Easy
"The gangsters break into the evidence room in action movies to grab drugs or guns," says Koelsch. "But in Kaiserslautern, you can find what you're looking for easier: through the police's online shop." Here, you'll find new or barely used items at affordable prices - like foot chains for only six euros, rotating LED ceiling lamps, rain jackets for ten euros each, and used bicycles for just 25 euros.
"Our inventory runs the gamut from lipstick to diapers and Christmas décor to toolboxes," Koelsch says. These items are usually confiscated during arrests for shoplifting or online fraud. Sometimes, it's impossible to determine the original owner, so they can't be returned.
The Swiping Cops
Before coming to Kaiserslautern, Koelsch worked at the Rhineland-Palatinate Police Headquarters. She knew about the second-hand store from there. Ludwigshafen already had a website where confiscated items were auctioned. "I suggested we do the same," recalls Erfort.
Other locations in the state take a different approach. The Trier police headquarters, for instance, uses the Zoll-Auktion.de platform. The Mainz police headquarters and the state criminal office do not have a second-hand store.
In Kaiserslautern, among a row of bicycles on this day, their origin sounds intriguing: "If the police nab a drunk cyclist, they confiscate the bike to prevent further incidents," Koelsch explains. "But there are people who don't claim their bikes. They're sent reminders, but often, the department doesn't hear back."
"All money from the sales goes into the Rhineland-Palatinate's state budget," Erfort states. "And items that nobody wants are donated to charitable institutions. Perishable items typically end up in the trash."
"Snag your 'hot item' by sending an email with your purchase request, transferring the funds, and then stopping by," says the cop. Erfort acknowledges that the process is quite unusual. "Who needs summer tires or baby diapers from the police?"
- Police
- Evidence Room
- Crime
Additional Insight:Typical items that might be available for purchase from police auctions in Germany could include seized vehicles, electronics, jewelry, furniture, and household goods. These auctions are conducted by local authorities or specialized auction houses, with proceeds often funding public services or compensating victims of crime. Specific details about the types of items available and the procedures used in Rhineland-Palatinate would require direct inquiry to local law enforcement or auction houses involved in such sales.
- Bernhard, in his unexpected shopping store, reminds his team to list items like seized bicycles in their online shop, which runs from lipstick to diapers and even toolboxes.
- Shoplifting suspects might find themselves contributing unwittingly to the police's vocational training program, as items confiscated during arrests like foot chains and rotating LED ceiling lamps are sold online at affordable prices.
- In their quest for unique finds, shoppers might stumble upon curiosities in the police's second-hand store, such as bicycles that were once confiscated from unclaimed drunk cyclists in the community.
