Can I delete "Previously Relocated Files" after moving them to another folder?

Does it make any sense that it copied them instead of simply moving them? I dragged and dropped, so I definitely didn't tell it to copy them.

Yes, because you did not own the files in that folder. You did not have permission to modify the enclosing folder, so it copied the files. You can then delete the folder, but you will be requested to authenticate the action.

Just make sure the files you copied can be opened and "worked" on before deleting the originals from the Previously Relocated Items folder. Do a sample few to verify that they are OK.

I think the slow response to occupancy is due to slow Spotlight indexing.

It's wise to copy files between volumes instead of moving them. If there's a disconnect in the move the original can be deleted and no file created at the new location. It's dangerous.

ndelc wrote:

OK, that's what I figured, but in this case, I simply moved them from the "Users > Shared > Previously Relocated Items > Security" folder to the "Users > my username" folder on the same drive.

With the new drive makeup that would be different volumes.

Essentially two different drives but you can have two volumes on a single drive and moving between them is like moving between drives.