Question of the Month???  

Ask Joe  

Q Dear Joe 

I hope you can provide some guidance in the method in which we document signed out evidence for court and investigations. I am a brand new member of IAPE and new property officer working by myself in the property room with no one to turn to for help.

As a new member I have be astonished at the number of scandals that are posted on your blog Evidence Blog and stories in the Evidence Log. It appears that most of the stories are related to drugs and guns that are mysteriously disappearing from our inventories. I know for a fact that we routinely sign out evidence including drug a guns that are signed out for court or out for investigation. Historically, it doesn't appear that we have ever questioned whether or not the items ever reach their destinations as the officers sign the record and we never ask about the disposition of the evidence. Sometimes the items are returned and sometime not!

Joe, can you suggest some guidance.

Thanks,

"The New Property Officer" 

A 

Dear,  "The New Property Officer"

First of all, there are some very simple internal controls that should be considered and endorsed by top management. They are are as follows:

• The most important internal control in your property room is the "tickler file". The tickler file can be as simple as a file folder or as sophisticated as a robust property evidence computer system. A ticker file is a repository of property records of items that have been removed to court, lab or for investigation. Policy needs to ensure the tickler file is check daily for items that haven't be returned in the predefined time. Guns, drugs and money should be followed up the following day.

• Another control that many departments adhere to is having the officer that is removing the evidence for court provide the property officer a copy of the subpoena for court with the case number for the case in question.

• Some departments require that any time guns, money or drugs are taken out of the property room the transaction must be approved by the officer's immediate supervisor.

• Anytime the evidence is submitted as a court exhibit, policy should require that the responsible officer supply the property officer with some type of receipt signed by court personnel or the prosecutor showing the custody of the evidence has been transferred from the department to another agency. Obtaining a signature from court personnel or the prosecutor eliminates any suspicions later on that the evidence has been improperly handled. Additionally, the process protects both the officer and department from any allegation of mismanagement.

• Last there should be a written policy stating who has written authority to sign out evidence from the property room. There has been a myriad of scandals where officers' remove evidence from the custody of the property room and the assigned investigator had no knowledge of the action and the evidence disappeared.

I would encourage you to review these recognized suggestions and have a discussion with your boss and good luck.

As an additional reference visit Professional Standards 

and review Chapter 9 Narcotics for more information.

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