The temptation of easy profit: what not to do if you find someone else's thing

Many citizens mistakenly believe that something left unattended in a public place or dropped on the street is ownerless. However, as explained by the head of criminal investigation of the Soviet police of Minsk Dmitry Kachan, this is the main and most dangerous misconception. Everything has a rightful owner, even if he dropped it or forgot it. Details - in the material of the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti".

The photo is illustrative in nature

If a citizen picks up someone else’s phone, wallet or bag and does not take measures to return them, his actions are qualified not as a find, but as theft. The same rule applies if the property was forgotten in a cafe, taxi or shop.

As an example, D. Kachan cited a case from practice. In the Soviet police Department of the capital asked a man who reported the missing backpack. The victim forgot the thing on the hood of the car, and when he returned, it was gone. The amount of damage caused exceeded 1.2 thousand BYN.

During the operational-search activities, police officers established that the property was stolen by a 62-year-old locksmith of one of the capital organizations, who had not previously been in the field of view of law enforcement agencies. From the backpack, the defendant took a gold chain, 90 BYN, a bank payment card, headphones and a bunch of keys. He spent the cash on his own needs, and did not manage the rest. The stolen property is seized and will be returned to its rightful owner.

The head of the criminal investigation department of the Soviet Internal Affairs Department recommends that if someone else's thing is found, act as follows:

1. 1.If the find is made in a store, bank, cafe or in the cabin of public transport, pass it to the administrator, cashier, seller or driver. They must take steps to find the owner.
2. 2.If the owner is not nearby, the best option is to take the find to the nearest police station.

Property temporarily left unattended by the owner (forgotten or lost) is considered to be in his possession. The possession of this property is considered theft.