The Hyde Park Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) have set up a new scheme to support local charities and organisations by distributing equipment that has been found or seized by officers in Doncaster. 

Officers often come across equipment that has been left at various locations or has been seized from properties after police operations. Instead of disposing of these items the Hyde Park SNT have been supporting local charities, organisations and schools who do not have the funds to buy this type of equipment.

Police Community Support Officers and Community Safety Wardens from the SNT worked with local schools and organisations to find out what they needed then checked the stores to see if there was anything that would help them.

So far they have given gardening equipment seized from cannabis farms including plant pots, watering cans and fertilizer to CHASE (Carr House Allotments Social Enterprise). They have also sent wheelchairs to DDPA (Doncaster Disabled Peoples Alliance) which is a local disabled charity, electrical equipment to a local youth club and donated hand tools to the ‘Time Bank’ in Doncaster. This is a Doncaster wide initiative where people can trade their time to help each other.

Sergeant Garry West from the Hyde Park SNT said: “We will continue to run this scheme and provide equipment for voluntary agencies in our local area. It enables us to recycle items that would otherwise be disposed of and ensure that the property is going to organisations and charities that can really benefit from it.”

CHASE project manager Peter Beresford said: “It is great that these items are being redistributed and put to such a positive use. The people involved with CHASE are now benefiting by reusing things that would otherwise have been sent for destruction”

All found property is kept in a storeroom at Doncaster Police Station on College Road for a minimum of eight weeks to allow time for the owner to reclaim it. Once this time has passed it is disposed of, this scheme allows the items to be recycled and be put to good use.  Seized property can be recycled straight away if it is not needed for a case.