Spacesaver Law Enforcement Guide

Law Enforcement Agencies include local Police and County Sheriff Departments. State Police, which arelocated in several states, would also fall under this classification.The role of any law enforcement agency is to “Protect and Serve.” As we are all aware, this means arrestingpeople who are thought to be committing some sort ofcrime. Some people are imprisoned, others arereleased after initial booking and still others get by with a written warning or ticket. The entire process generatesa whole array of storage applications, from files, to evidence to the personal property of people whoare arrested. The goal here is to illustrate the areas of storage common among these agencies to show whereSpacesaver solutions can significantly benefit their operations.

Areas of Focus

Evidence/Property Room

Report Writing Room

Gun Room*

Locker Rooms

Sally Port

Office/Administration

*Where specialized guns (i.e. non-officer issued handguns) are stored)

Storage Items

Short Term Evidence

Long Term Evidence

  • High Profile
  • Narcotics
  • Firearms/Weapons (Firearms from active cases in one location and firearms pending destruction in another.)
  • Currency
  • Jewelry
  • Homicide Evidence
  • Frozen and refrigerated samples
  • Blood and Urine Samples
  • Sexual Assault Kits
  • Temperature Sensitive Biological Samples
  • DNA Samples
  • Video Tapes and Cassettes
  • Hazardous and Flammable Materials (Bulk is stored in “out-buildings” or garage)
  • Found Property
  • Safe Keeping
  • General Property & Evidence
  • Bikes
  • Golf clubs, shovels
  • TV’s, stereos, speakers
  • Cassette tapes, videos

Records

  • Warrants, Arrest Records, Citations, Juvenile Records, Business Records, Personnel Records and Accounting

Fingerprint Files

Office Supplies

Uniforms & Gear

Maintenance Shop

Wet Evidence (Drying Cabinet)

Specialized Guns

  • S.W.A.T. Weapons, Sniper Rifles, Shotguns

PersonalStorage Lockers

Officer’s clothes

Boots

Body armor

Duty belt

Hat

Ear protection (for firing range)

Personal gun

Wallet

Cell phone

Duty Bag*/War Bag

*Potentially duty bags will be stored in a separate locker assigned to each officer.

Property Officer’s Terminology

Note: The terminology listed below are generic terms and may differ from agency to agency. Use these terms as aguideline.

Audit: A formal periodic examination and verification of accounts or records to verify their correctness.

Booking Officer: The employee who prepares the property for submission to the Property Control Room.

Chain of Custody: A formal, written process recording the persons having custody of evidence from initialpoint of receipt or custody to final disposition. The record also reflects the dates and reasons evidenceis transferred from one location or person to another (Rush: 1994; pp 45)

Evidence: Property that may be related to a crime which may implicate or clear a person of a crime.

Found Property: Non-evidentiary property coming into the custody of a law enforcement agency, has

been determined to be lost or abandoned, and is not known or suspected to be connected with any criminaloffense. Found property does not include intentionally abandoned property which will not be stored.

Inventory: A complete listing of all, or a portion of, the property items against theagency’s records.

Property Held for Safekeeping: Non-evidentiary property placed into temporary custody is generally heldbetween 30 to 90 days. These items are held to provide an opportunity to determine the legal owner butare not evidence of a crime.

Property for Disposal: Non-evidentiary property that a citizen has requested to be destroyed. This termgenerally includes weapons and ammunition.

Property Officer: Also termed Property Controller; Property Specialist; Evidence Officer; Property Clerk;

Property Evidence Technician; and Evidence Controller Officer.

Property Reports: Property tag; Invoice; Voucher; Receipt.

Property Seized by Search Warrant: This is property held by court ordered search warrant and includes

all items listed on the warrant. Seized items are held pursuant to a judge’s decree. No item held by searchwarrant may be released without written directions from the court of jurisdiction or the magistrate whoordered the seizure of items.(Source: Evidence & Property Management, 1998; pp v)

High Profile Evidence Handling, Proceduresand Storage Considerations

High profile evidence. . .some property, just by their very nature, requires extra protection, security, andhandling precautions. Items such as money, precious metals, jewelry, firearms and drugs fall into thiscategory. (Evidence & Property Management, 1998.)

The focus of this section is to deal with the special storage needs of Narcotics, Currency, and Firearms.

The information includes procedures, special handling requirements and storage considerations. The end

of this section illustrates solutions that other law enforcement agencies have used to handle their own evidencestorage needs. Every evidence room is different. It’s important – even vital – to interview the

Property Room/Evidence Room technician(s), the Chiefs or Sheriff and anyone else who plays a directrole with the Property/Evidence Room, to discuss their evidence handling procedures and plan for the mostefficient storage & retrieval system.

Narcotic Evidence StorageProcedures and Considerations

N&DD = Narcotic and Dangerous Drug: The most frequently used method of identifying and recording narcotic evidence is termed: the evidence room-first method. All seized N&DD evidence, after beingfield tested, marked, photographed (may be eliminated), weighed (may occur inside the evidence room),and inventoried, is sealed in containers and deposited in a “drop-box” or delivered directly to the evidencearea in the property room. In new construction, consider pass-thru lockers in which evidence can bechecked in outside the property room and retrieved by the evidence room technician inside the evidenceroom.

Another procedure for checking in evidence is termed the laboratory-first method. This method requires

that all seized N&DD evidence (after field tested, marked, photographed, weighed and initially inventoried)be immediately delivered to the laboratory for analysis. Evidence drop-boxes are provided in the laboratoryduring non-operating hours (again, pass-thru lockers are a good alternative for secured storage).

The difference between the two procedures is when the evidence is analyzed. The laboratory-first method ispreferred because it reduces the “handling” of the evidence and decreases the number of “custody transferpoints.” Whatever procedure is followed, each step the evidence takes from when it was seized until it isdisposed of according to policy, appropriate documentation must accompany each move for the evidence toremain legally acceptable. This is where you can help by integrating your storage knowledge with computersoftware that tracks evidence.

Storage Considerations

  • Narcotics should never be co-mingled with any other property.
  • Locking devises should be designed so that more than one person is needed to open the storage unit, suchas a two-key system or dual locks (when practical).
  • Consider integrating an independent alarm system – separate from the property room alarm system.
  • Keep an entry log of all activity associated with the drug. Track when it arrived, amounts, who/when it ischecked out, when returned and by whom.
  • Consider providing an integrated software system with yourstorage system.
  • Narcotics should be stored separately from money and firearms, but can be located within the same securedarea.

Source: Evidence & Property Management by Joseph T. Latta and George E. Rush, copyright 1998

Currency Handlingand Storing Procedures

The handling of currency needs to be uniform in all cases. It is imperative that the “two person rule” beestablished and strictly observed while handling currency. When an officer locates or seizes money, it needsto be documented by denomination and witnessed by a second person.

All currency should be stored in a vault or a storage unit that separates money from all other evidence.

This could be accomplished by having a separate locked cage, secured room or secured storage unit withinthe evidence room. Mobile storage systems can be locking and made to accommodate lockers or othersecure storage housings. This may be an appropriate solution depending on the space your customer has towork in.

Consider including an alarm system separate from the property room’s main alarm system.

There are several procedures an office could follow regarding the opening and counting of money when itarrives at the property room. The recommended and most commonly used procedure is that if the envelopeis properly sealed (using evidence tape) and properly documented by denomination, the envelope neednot be opened again once deposited in the property room. The evidence room technician only needs to logthe evidence into his/her system. When the case is adjudicated, the money would be transferred to anorganizational unit that routinely handles money. The money would be then counted and witnessed. Theless handling of currency the better.

The removal of currency from the property room removes the threat of theft. Every effort must be madeto remove high value items (guns, money, narcotics) from the property room as quickly as possible. Ourjob as storage specialists is to provide a storage system that’s secure and will help eliminate any threatof theft. When a case is adjudicated, the active item(s) must be removed from the shelf and placed in aninterim location. The interim location needs to be monitored frequently by supervisors or managers toinsure currency is properly transferred. This is another opportunity for you to provide a secure storagesystem for items that are awaiting destruction (such as guns or narcotics) and currency.

Souce: Evidence & Property Management by Joseph T. Latta and George E. Rush, copyright 1998

Firearms Storageand Handling

Because firearms are such a high profile item, storage must be a priority within any property room, as with

narcotics and other high value items. The following storage guidelines are suggested (source: Evidence &

Property Management, 1998.)

  • Firearm rooms should be constructed to prevent unwarranted entry. Concrete walls, cyclone fencing, wallsslab-to-slab or slab-to-roof are acceptable materials.
  • Firearm rooms should be alarmed independently of the regular intrusion alarm system.
  • Shelving should be designed for the efficient storage of both long guns and hand guns.
  • A small area should be reserved to store unusual pieces such as machine guns, small cannons, etc.
  • The storage scheme should be consistent with the overall storage scheme of the property room.
  • If it is not practical to devote an area to firearms due to space, budgetary constraints or volume, lockerssecured within the property room are acceptable alternatives.
  • The use of mobile storage systems can helpachieve this requirement by storing locked cabinets/lockers on a lockable storage system.

Hand Gun Storage: Sealed manila envelopes stored in filing cabinets (like files) or on shelves; hand gunracks, on pegs hung by the trigger guard or with the dowel inserted into the barrel (only when the gunwill not be fired again). Many departments are requiring officers to place a wire tie into the barrel or cylinderof all hand guns. This makes the gun inoperable until the wire tie is removed. A good practice whenreleasing weapons back to the public and to prevent accidents when handling. Gun boxes are also availablefor hand guns, long guns and knives.

Long Gun Storage: Gun boxes can be the most efficient means of storage when storing large quantitiesof long guns. Other solutions include a variety of weapon racks, lockers or cabinets.

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