The latest return occurred in recent days, when the Lost Property Office of the Bergamo Local Police was able to track down the owners of two Great Danes, lost in the Upper Town on 25 April, and return the dogs to them. But in recent years the office has been busy. Between 2014 and 2024, a total of 11,115 objects were found and processedwhich required a great deal of cataloguing, searching for owners and storing unclaimed items in the warehouse.
Office work increased with tourists
Since 2014, agent Elena Tedesco has been in charge of the service, having managed a large number of cases of found objects and recovered stolen vehicles in the municipal area. Over the years, due to the increase in tourist flows in the city of Bergamo, favored by the growth of the Orio al Serio airport, cases of documents and objects belonging to foreign people have increasedwhich have been traced and the objects delivered – via express courier (expenses paid by the person to whom the goods are returned) – in their countries of origin, both inside and outside the European Union.
The social turning point
In 2017, a “social turning point” occurred with the creation of the Facebook page “Objects Found by the Bergamo Local Police”. The page has achieved high popularity, with over 10,000 followers, and has facilitated direct contact between citizens and the Command regarding lost objects, responding to private messages 7 days a week. The use of social networks, in particular Facebook, combined with traditional methods of contact such as written notices, phone calls and texts, has become a common means for quick contact, especially through tagging in comments that directs the conversation to Messenger’s private messaging. Many refunds in recent years have occurred thanks to virtual contact on social networks between the office and the user.
From January to April 2024, 419 discovery cases were opened, of which 218 were closed with the return of the objects
Most of the objects found were reported by the agents or delivered directly by citizens to the Command.
The office has collaborated and actively collaborates with other law enforcement agencies present in the city, such as the State Police and the Carabinieri, as well as other external Local Police commands as well as with other bodies such as Atb Mobilità and the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital which have repeatedly handed over unclaimed objects and documents to the Office at their facilities.
From January to April 2024, 419 discovery cases were opened, of which 218 were closed with the return of the objects.
Among these discoveries there were 7 stolen cars and motorcycles, 8 bicycles, 2 electric scooters, 80 wallets, 308 personal documents, 134 credit or debit cards and 1313.20 euros in cash.
The most important refunds
Among the most significant returns of 2024 we can include personal computers, tablets, suitcases, bags with work documents, cell phones, hearing aids, wedding rings, glasses, SIM cards, garden tools, power banks, Treasury bonds and even a will.
And the animals? Also a rooster and a turtle
As for pets, dogs, cats and ferrets were returned, while a pet rooster and a land turtle found a new home. Furthermore, the office contributed to the recovery of 6 fallow deer that escaped from a private property in the municipality of Orio al Serio. The latest discovery, which occurred on April 25th, made it possible to return two Great Danes recovered in the Upper Town.
