From Crime Scene to Courtroom: The Process of Tracking Evidence
Contrary to popular belief, life as a law enforcer is not just about high-octane car chases and explosive gunfire. Most of the time, police officers have their hands full, ensuring that the evidence gathered is intact and readily available for examination. As any cop will tell you, this is easier said than done. Without an effective police evidence management system, prosecutors would not be able to bring criminals to justice.
This is because the burden of proving guilt lies on the party that files charges. In the case of the police, they are tasked with the duty to preserve pieces of evidence that are directly relevant to the case. Aside from proving guilt, they must also preserve potentially exculpatory evidence, which are items that defendants may use to clear themselves of wrongdoing.
This practice is necessary to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Needless to say, the mishandling of evidence is favorable for the accused, who can easily use discrepancies in evidence handling to render evidence inadmissible to the court.
From Crime Scene to the Courtroom
According to the National Commission on Forensic Science, physical evidence must be “properly documented, handled, and analyzed” to be of any value to the court. Every aspect of how the evidence was collected and handled should be meticulously documented to prove that it has not been tampered with or altered in any way.
Evidence should first be taken from the location where it was recovered to the department where it is recorded and received into a secured storage / property room. Until it is received into the property room it is considered to be, “in transit”. Chain of custody begins at that point.
It stays in storage until such time that it is exhibited as evidence in court—after which it will have to be stored again. It will remain there until it is brought up in court again, or until the case has been closed with a verdict.
In a concept known as chain of custody, the police have the responsibility to ensure that every FSSP, collecting agency, and storage location that a piece of evidence goes through is documented. To this end, law enforcement agencies need to have robust evidence tracking solutions to prove that the evidence’s integrity remains intact.
How an Evidence Tracking System Helps
An effective evidence tracking system will have core functions that help police officers to do efficient and systematic tagging. Examples of such features are barcode printers, barcode scanners, labels, and ribbons, which allow tagging of evidence in a systematic way.
Another core feature is having a chain of custody log, which functions as a record of people who have handled a certain piece of evidence. Other features, such as an easily customizable modern interface, built-in report templates, and automatic backup modules, will help police officers in producing evidence as needed.
Evidence Tracking Solutions Are Not Created Equal
For it to work, any piece of software has to be designed with its user in mind. This is why anybody who wishes to design a police evidence management system must have an intimate understanding of police procedures and way of life. To this end, police officers will benefit from an evidence management system that was designed by former cops who understand the pain points of tracking evidence manually.
The Best Evidence Management System in the US
PMI Evidence Tracker™ is a police evidence management system that allows for proper tracking of evidence in compliance with state and federal laws. We provide a year of technical support and software updates. Contact us today to learn more.
