Best Practices for Attractive Property

Directive Statement

This directive establishes the proper methods of safeguarding attractive property.  The “Identifying, Decaling, and Maintaining Attractive Property” directive describes Attractive Property as: “….Tangible personal property that costs less than $5,000 and can be characterized as “walk away” items.  These items are prone to theft because they are either not secured, are easily portable, contain new technology, and/or they are adaptable for personal use.”  Since the item costs less than $5,000, the item is not capitalized or considered a capital asset.  Capital assets are identified in the University’s property records and inventoried every year.  Refer to the Directives and Procedures for a list of items that are required to be treated as attractive property.  In addition to the required items, a department may define additional types of equipment as attractive property.

Note:  The discussion below uses the terms “item” and “equipment” interchangeably to refer to tangible personal property purchased by the University that costs less than the University’s capitalization threshold of $5,000.

Reason for Directive

Safeguarding attractive property is done for the following reasons:

  1. Deter theft of equipment
  2. Facilitate reporting requirements on certain items, like those purchased with equipment-use funds
  3. Insurance purposes
  4. Provide a list of comparable equipment resources readily available in the event of theft or break down
  5. Maximize control of equipment that, if lost, the exposure to loss (whether financial or otherwise) is greater than the department is willing to accept.  Examples include computers with sensitive information or items that could negatively impact personal safety

Who must comply?

The department Property Custodian has the ultimate responsibility to establish and implement policies and procedures necessary to safeguard attractive property.  Below are suggested activities to assist the property custodian with these tasks.

Procedures & Best Practices

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