There’s no way of anticipating when your department could be involved in a high-profile case. If a particularly heinous crime, or a crime involving someone famous, should happen to occur within your jurisdiction, and then capture local or national media attention, you could find your department faced with unexpected attention and scrutiny. It’s at times like this that you hope everything in your department is buttoned-up.
However imagine if, due to a lack of procedures or training, your department unintentionally mishandles a key piece of evidence for this case. Depending on how famous the case is, members of department leadership could be pressured to step down, and your department as a whole may never recover from the damage to its reputation.
Take Steps Before It Happens
The important thing is to take action now, to prevent this from ever happening. You want to have procedures in place and training conducted, so that when your department gets tested, they pass. Other than increasing training for your officers on how to properly collect evidence at a crime scene, the other area you should focus your attention on is your department’s procedures in the evidence room.
In this article, we’ll share the extra precautions you should take to ensure your department’s evidence room never becomes a headline:
1. Set Authorized Access to Your P&E Room
Your property and evidence (P&E) room consists of highly valuable items and sensitive information. In addition to items of physical evidence found at crime scenes, it can also hold highly confidential documents, transcripts, or interrogation footage. For this reason, only authorized police personnel should be allowed to get in, and access should be limited to only a few select officers.
2. Always Have a Supervisor Present
In line with authorized access to the P&E room, it’s best to always have a supervisor present as someone who is accountable for overseeing the other officers. For instance, identify a few officers who are allowed to work in the drug room, and whenever they enter, have a supervisor accompany them. Not only does this help ensure that all new evidence custodians receive adequate supervision and training, it also helps limit the liability of all parties involved. Such security measures should also apply to gun and money vaults.
3. Maintain a Key Log
If you want to effectively track who’s coming in and out of the restricted property and evidence room, it’s best to maintain a key log. Whenever the assigned officers, along with the supervisor, enter the room, they need to log their time in and time out. They should also indicate the purpose of the entry. This log must also be audited regularly by a third party in the department to ensure it matches with the CCTV. Ultimately, a key log isn’t only for record purposes, but also for accountability.
4. Install a Security System
In line with maintaining a key log, installing a solid security system can make all the difference. Whether the P&E room is located within a building or is a building in itself, it’s best to have cameras installed showing the various entrances to the room. If possible, it should also be monitored by dispatch 24/7. As mentioned above, be sure to have regular audits to see who’s coming in and out of the restricted room.
5. Regulate Access Control
If you want to regulate access control effectively, you have to consider a few vital factors, such as the following:
• The size of the P&E room, including the number of rooms in the facility
• The number of employees around and those who have access to the restricted room
• The hours of operation
• The location of the room
• The construction of the room
• The evidence tracking system
• The overall budget
With all these in mind, your agency will be able to regulate access control properly.
Put the Plan in Place to Maintain Security
At this point, we’ve covered five valuable steps you can take to ensure your property and evidence room never becomes a headline. As discussed above, set authorized access, have a supervised team, maintain a key log, install a robust security system, and regulate access control. With all these in place, you can expect your department to face any increased media attention and pass with flying colors!
Utilizing a Robust Evidence Tracker
It’s time to set up a solid police evidence management system for your agency by taking advantage of our valuable resources at PMI Evidence Tracker™. We cater to law enforcement agencies by providing an affordable, flexible, and easy-to-use evidence tracking software in the US. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!
