What should I do if I discover a found object?

It will not have escaped you: In recent years, we see more and more, on Facebook or other social networks, posts that advertise various found objects. Keys, phones, or whatever: everything goes. And yet, this method of finding an owner is a mistake. And it’s illegal.

It’s annoying. And I confess that I’m one of them: Posting found objects on Facebook is a false good idea: It’s the door open to people who are going to pick up items that don’t belong to them, or worse: Keys from their neighbor whose kit they’ve recognized. Like what.

We’re not going to go around the bush: What you have to do when you discover a found object is clearly framed by the law. In Switzerland, a good summary can be found on the official website ch.ch:

• If you find something on the public domain (on the street), you should go to a police station or the found objects office of the municipality concerned.
• Anything you find on a station, train or other public transport, you must hand it over to the operator’s appropriate department.
• If you find something in a residential or public building (cinema, theatre, gym, swimming pool, etc.), you must hand it over to the owner, concierge or supervisory staff.
• If you find a pet, you must report it to the cantonal office of the found animals.

After that, nothing prevents you from reporting your discovery on Facebook, but without a photo, and specifying in which office the object was found.