283Forfeiture of things seized

283 Forfeiture of things seized (1) A thing seized under section 280 (Seizing mail etc) or section 281 (Seizing property—general) is forfeited to the Territory if the director-general decides on reasonable grounds— (a) that— (i) after making reasonable inquiries (given the thing’s apparent value), the owner of the thing cannot be found; or (ii) after making reasonable efforts (given the thing’s apparent value), the thing cannot be returned to the owner; or (b) that— (i) the thing is a prohibited thing; or (ii) possession of the thing by a young detainee is an offence or a behaviour breach; or (iii) it is necessary to keep the thing to stop it being used for the commission of an offence or a behaviour breach; or (iv) the thing is inherently unsafe; or (v) the thing may be used by the person in a way that may involve a risk to the personal safety of someone else or a risk to security or good order at a detention place.

(2) The director-general may deal with a thing forfeited to the Territory under this section, or dispose of it, as the director-general considers 1 giving a forfeited weapon to a youth detention officer 2 dumping a forfeited thing of little value (3) However, subsection (2) is subject to any order under the Crimes Act 1900, section 249 (Seizure of forfeited articles). Note 1 The Crimes Act 1900 also provides for articles forfeited under any law in force in the Territory to be seized by a member of the police force, taken before the Magistrates Court and for the court to order disposal of the article by the public trustee and guardian (see s 249 and s 250). Note 2 The Uncollected Goods Act 1996 provides generally for the disposal of uncollected goods, including goods abandoned on premises controlled by the Territory.