CopShop will be an auctioning platform that police precincts can use to raise funds by selling off impounded items to members of the local public.
The application is designed to be used by police precincts to conduct public auctions for property they’ve impounded. Precincts can list items to be auctioned and specify when auctions should begin and end. They can also choose to list an item with no set auction date. The details for these listings such as the description, price and location can be modified at any time.
Members of the local public will use the application to bid on items that precincts have listed to be auctioned off. They can search for items available for auction through criteria that includes specifying precincts as well as detailed categories. They can view a summary of their bids with information regarding when auctions are ending as well as whether or not they’ve been outbid. When an individual wins an item in an auction, they are notified that they must come to the precinct in order to complete their payment and collect their item.
CopShop provides police precincts with a quick and easy way to sell unclaimed property back to the community as well as buyers across the country. Items no longer need to occupy storage space for long periods of time until annual auctions, which are often poorly attended and therefore result in minimal revenue. Instead, through the application, they will be accessible online at any time. This has the potential to bring in more buyers and drive bids higher which will consequently result in more revenue generation for the participating police precincts.
People looking for good deals on used equipment and other property, as well as those searching for hard-to-find items both benefit from the convenience and location-independence of the mobile application over conventional silent auctions or sell-offs.
CopShop also increases communication and cooperation between the police station and the community, by providing a time efficient way for police stations to return lost or stolen items. Owners of missing property can browse the list of items queued for auction and easily see if their belongings have been found, saving owners and officers time by eliminating phone calls and unnecessary visits to the police station.
The project will be considered successful if it shows superiority over traditional police auctions in the following comparisons. Firstly, police precincts that utilize the app will be surveyed on whether or not they prefer to use the application over their former method of selling or disposing of impounded property. The success criterion in this case would be having more than 60% of precincts prefer the application over their former method. Secondly, the number of people viewing and bidding on items will be compared to the numbers from previous auctions. The app will be considered a success in this case if the number of people who bid increases by 1.5 times. Finally, the funds raised from the sale of items through the application will be compared to funds raised before the its utilization. An increase in revenue margin by 35% would be indicative of the application's success.