Dubai Police return quarter of all lost property

Of the more than 8,000 documents and bank cards found, over 3,000 have been returned.

DUBAI // Nearly a quarter of all electronics, documents, cash and jewellery turned in to or found by police last year have been returned to their owners.

Of more than 36,000 items found in 2012, nearly 9,000 were given back to the owners by the department, Dubai Police posted on its Twitter feed yesterday.

The most common items found were phones and electronics, which made more than half of all the items. Documents and bank cards were also prevalent, with more than 3,000 of the 8,000 found returned.

Next was cash, where there were more than 6,000 separate cases recorded. But less than 10 per cent of cash found its way back to its owner because it is more difficult to trace.

Jewellery was least likely to end up back with the original owner, with less than 4 per cent of items successfully returned.

Dubai Police has urged the public to report missing items within three months. After that all lost items go into a public auction.

Instructions on the Government of Dubai's website tell those who have lost important documents or valuables, or had them stolen, to notify police in person and they will issue a formal report if the items are not recovered in 48 hours.

The public can also visit Dubai Police's website to inquire about lost and found items, though this service is only available in Arabic.