Lost and Found Policy

The International House (“I-House”) Lost and Found Policy and procedures are intended to ensure that items reported lost or found on I-House grounds are properly accounted for and, in the case of items found, returned to their rightful owner or disposed of by the Office of Public Safety. “Lost property” means any unattended, abandoned, misplaced, or forgotten item including but not limited to equipment, cash, jewelry, phones, books, keys, documents, or personal identification papers (driver’s license, credit cards, etc.) which are found within t IHouse’s boundaries, pending the identification of the rightful owner or appropriate disposal of the item. I-House assumes no responsibility for the care and/or protection of any personal belongings left unattended on its property and for their loss, under any circumstances, including theft, vandalism, or malicious mischief of such belonging. The Office of Public Safety, located on the A-Level of the South building, is designated as the central repository and controlling unit responsible for lost and found property at I-House. All found items should be turned into Public Safety for identification of the rightful owner if possible. All found items turned into Public Safety will be logged as found and securely stored.

Public Safety will make every effort to find the owner of found items. All found items will be held for a maximum of (60) days with exception of clothing and credit/bank cards, wallets and textbooks which will be held for thirty (30) days. If unclaimed, I-House will do the following with specific items:

• Clothing – After 30 days they will be donated to nearest thrift store as a donation.
• Credit/Bank Cards –After 30 days they will be destroyed.
• Textbooks – After 30 days they will be offered to the local Public Library or, if in poor condition, destroyed.
• Wallets – Item will be inventoried. After 30 days, the wallet will be delivered to the local Police Precinct.
• Driver’s License – After 60 days, the license will be sent to the DMV.
• Passports – After 60 days, the Passport will be delivered to U.S. Department of State Consular – Lost and Stolen Passport Unit.
• Electronic item – After 60 days, the item will be donated to an assigned donation drop center or destroyed if in poor condition.
• Laptops & Cell phones – After 60 days, the item will be delivered to the local Police Precinct.

Any individual making a request for a lost item must present picture identification and a description of the item to Public Safety before it will be returned to them. If the item has no identification on it but the individual can describe it or unlock it (for example with a phone, tablet, laptop), the item will be returned and the individual claiming the item must sign the lost and found form acknowledging s/he has reclaimed ownership of the property.