Property and Evidence
Property Claim Form
Property & Evidence Office
Law and Justice Center
406 Fuller AVE.
Helena, MT 59602
By Appointment ONLY:
Public Hours are:
Monday - Friday: 9 am – 4 pm
Closed from Noon – 1pm and all County Holidays
Contact:
Office: (406) 447-8250
Admin: (406) 447-8235
Fax: (406) 449-8452
Check our Found Property Webpage to locate your lost property
Topic of Interest: (click on topic to go there)
Contact: (Click on topic)
Mission Statement:
To secure and maintain the integrity of evidence and property for the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office, community and partnering agencies until disposition under the laws and ordinances of the State of Montana.
Background
The Property Evidence office, a division of the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB), receives and maintains over 2,000 property and evidence items per year – everything from trace evidence to vehicles. CIB maintains three separate facilities for the storage of these items.
Services Provided
- Receiving, processing, and storing of property and evidence.
- Identification and return of evidence and property to rightful owners.
- Provide access to evidence for any prosecuting or defense attorneys.
- Store vehicles that are impounded, maintained as evidence, or held for forfeiture.
Evidence:
Non-contraband property seized by members of the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office as evidence will be available for return to the owner after CIB has received confirmation and authorization from the County Attorney's office that the items(s) are no longer needed as evidence.
Money:
Money held as evidence in amounts equal to or greater then $100.00 will be returned by check with a usual processing time of three weeks. Amounts of less than $100.00 may be released in cash.
Property seized for Safekeeping:
All safekeeping property may be retrieved by the owner after CIB has received confirmation and authorization from the County Attorney's office that the items(s) are no longer needed or it will be disposed of as provided by MCA 46.5.306 and 46.5.309.
Prisoner Property
The majority of personal property on a person at the time they are booked into the Lewis & Clark Detention Center is retained by the Detention Center staff for safekeeping while the individual is incarcerated. In some cases, property may be seized by the Deputy if it has evidentiary value to the case.
If it is entered into the Property and Evidence office for safekeeping and is not held as evidence in their case it will be stored until the owner/arrestee is released from detention. The property must be retrieved within 10 days from the date of their release or it will be disposed of as provided by MCA 46.5.305, 46.5.306 and 46.5.309.