Journey to Efficiency: A Compelling Evidence Management Success Story

Journey to Efficiency: A Compelling Evidence Management Success Story

Law enforcement agencies across the country face numerous operational challenges, but a recurring issue is their inability to manage the volume of physical evidence accumulating in their property and evidence rooms.

It looks like this: The day comes when the last piece of evidence that can be stored properly is stored properly – in compliance with all the regulations and best practices of law enforcement evidence management. It sounds like a milestone to be celebrated. It’s not. It passes without fanfare.

Evidence collection in the field continues. Evidence storage continues, albeit improperly, as that’s the only option now. This is when an orderly evidence room begins to get cluttered and disorderly. New items are stacked on flat surfaces wherever there’s room, and the tops of evidence containers become another layer of shelving for new evidence. For the first time, the floor becomes an acceptable place to store containers and, later, piles of individual items of evidence.  

This is the birth of chaos in an evidence facility, and if no action is taken to improve the conditions, it will only worsen. Unfortunately, this is the situation in evidence facilities across the country.

The causes are many but include insufficient manpower leading to neglect of the facility, outdated record-keeping procedures, more evidence being collected than ever, and longer mandated storage periods.

Evidence room chaos creates new problems, some with severe consequences. Items can be misplaced, and locating specific items can take days or even weeks. Individual items of evidence can be ruled inadmissible when discovered in damaged packaging, exposing the evidence to potential contamination. Items that require special storage conditions are stored in non-compatible areas that may result in damaged or even destroyed evidence. If evidence used in filing charges is unavailable to prosecutors, proceeding with the case may be in jeopardy. Any failure of an agency’s responsibility to abide by the regulations of evidence management can tarnish its reputation and call into question its competency.

This opening section was framed to present the conditions and mention some of the problems faced by law enforcement agencies today regarding their evidence facilities. However, it could also describe the conditions and issues of one evidence room in one police department in the United States.

And it does. Let’s zero in on that agency and discover how it took control of its evidence room and what it plans to do to rebuild its entire evidence management process after years of neglect.

Background

This agency relied on an investigations supervisor to manage his workload, supervise others, maintain the evidence room and its inventory, coordinate any outside examinations and testing, and oversee their entire evidence management process post-collection. While their hearts were in the right place, this position couldn’t keep up with the duties required of the evidence function; however, due to a lack of manpower, this was their reality for nearly thirty years.

The result? An evidence room in disarray, an inventory whose numbers and history had faded from memory, protocols ignored, and an evidence management system that needed a complete overhaul.

The agency’s chief of police inherited the evidence room and its challenges. He knew something had to be done. Luckily, he knew who could help his agency and he reached out to Fortress Plus Solutions.

Fortress Plus Solutions

FPS is a highly respected, private long-term evidence storage company; that’s where the “Fortress” in their name comes in. But they do so much more. The “Plus Solutions” portion indicates they offer practical solutions to other problems and issues that law enforcement agencies deal with in the protection of their communities. They provide secure evidence storage, PLUS SOLUTIONS that address different issues related to law enforcement evidence management and beyond.

Boots on the Ground

Evidence management experts Tim Gainer and Joe Altman met with agency personnel, and they developed a long-range plan to bring order to the evidence room and ensure their evidence management process was brought up to modern regulatory standards.

Before they could do anything, Tim and Joe had to take stock of what was really going on in the evidence room. It was estimated that between five and six thousand items were stored there, but no one knew the exact number. Somewhere over time, they had lost count. In addition, no one remembered evidence ever being legally purged from the inventory.

Their first step was to complete an inventory of all the items in the evidence room.

It wasn’t an easy task.

The Inventory

All told, the inventory portion of the project took one hundred and sixty painstaking hours to finish. Six thousand items were individually handled and examined. About four thousand were identified, documented, and stored in the evidence room properly. About two thousand remained and were marked for destruction.

Gainer described the process as complex and intentionally slow. It had many starts and stops. For example, he described finding a hammer in a box, but neither was marked. Was it just a tool or critical evidence in a case? The condition of the inventory didn’t leave them a clue. One of the problems encountered was illegible labels or no labeling on the evidence at all. Gainer was sure that at one time, everything was labeled, but as years passed, some had come off, and no documentation of that fact existed. With this being the situation, that hammer could be just a hammer left behind by an employee, or it could be a murder weapon, requiring it to be stored forever. Such findings could not be overlooked, or their purpose in the inventory assumed. Several items fitting that description were found, and their histories were researched. Most were identified, but not all.

The most labor-intensive and time-consuming part of the inventory process was working with the agency’s paper records system – or trying to, anyway. It was outdated, illegible, incomplete, and a liability for the department because it did not provide accurate information about the items stored there. The chain of custody record for most items in the inventory was incomplete. The most consistent record found was the date a piece of evidence was placed in the evidence room. After that, few details were recorded or could be found.

As the inventory progressed, a separate, new record was created. The items processed and identified were logged into a spreadsheet, and their location in the evidence room was noted.

The Results

Through methodical and detailed work, Gainer, Altman, and the agency members who had assisted them on and off throughout the project restored order to the evidence room. The results were fabulous; the facility was organized, evidence was accounted for, and an environment of accountability not realized in years prevailed.

As the project neared completion, officers began to share their appreciation for Tim and Joe’s work. One officer went so far as to say that the transformation of the evidence room made him feel like his arrests “meant something” and made him feel more valued than before.

Improving officer morale may not be one of the most apparent benefits of a professional overhaul of an evidence room, but it happened in this case – with the help of Fortress Plus Solutions.

The Road Forward

With the inventory complete and the evidence room in order, the next steps of Tim and Joe’s plan are being finalized. Discussions include modernizing the infrastructure of the evidence room, creating standardized policies, assisting with the destruction of items flagged for purging, and possibly retaining FPS on a regular, part-time basis to assist with evidence management.

In addition, one of the most significant steps in the chief’s evidence management overhaul is transitioning from the paper records system to a modern, computer-based evidence management program. FPS will assist with the transition.

 

Conclusion

Fortress Plus Solutions is a private company with an excellent reputation for delivering the solutions police agencies need in evidence storage and management. In the case outlined here, with their expert help, decades of disarray and disorder were cleared, and the agency is poised for a future where compliance, efficiency, and accountability are routine. Thanks to FPS, what was once a significant liability is undergoing a process that will create a model of best practices in law enforcement evidence management.

Evidence Room Inventories vs. Audits: The Differences You Need To Know

Evidence Room Inventories vs. Audits: The Differences You Need To Know

It’s easy for professionals to get a bit lax when discussing our profession. It’s natural, and most folks we speak to know exactly what we mean. So, talk as you like, but in this case, let’s make sure we know the difference.

Of course, I’m referring to evidence room audits and inventories. These terms often get used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Let’s delve into the important differences so we’re all on the same page – whether we speak like it or not.

The Difference

Simply put, an inventory accounts for physical items, while an audit checks for compliance with evidence room regulations.

Let’s look at the following definitions from Joe Altman, the Evidence Custodian and Warehouse Manager at Fortress Plus Solutions:

An inventory is the process of individually checking all or a specified portion of the property and evidence items against the agency’s records.

An audit is a review of the policies, procedures, and processes of the property and evidence functions of the agency to determine whether or not they meet the recognized standards, best practices, and are in compliance with applicable statutes and codes.

Those are spot-on.

Two Essential Resources

Inventories and audits are recognized best practices in evidence room operations. Think of them as the resources they are. Resources that enable the agency to have an accurate count of their evidentiary items and ensure that the functions of their evidence room comply with the laws, standards, and other regulations regarding evidence handling. These resources identify problems and allow the agency to rectify them. Given the high stakes involved, the importance of these resources cannot be overlooked.

High Stakes and Details Matter

The evidence preservation and storage world is highly regulated, and compliance matters. The Criminal Justice system’s integrity depends upon compliance and the ability to prove that the collecting and storing agency followed all regulations.

From on-scene collection through court presentation – a period that could take years – following the rules of evidence management protects the innocent and helps convict the guilty. 

However, mistakes in its management can cause items to be ruled inadmissible in court or entire cases dismissed.

With the stakes that high, agency leaders should embrace inventories and audits to ensure the operational integrity of their evidence facilities.

Next, let’s look at the options those resources offer to help your evidence room run smoothly.

Internal and External

Inventories and audits can be accomplished by internal or external personnel. Both have their advantages and challenges.

Internal Audits and Inventories: These can be more efficient due to the familiarity of the agency’s personnel with their specific procedures, allowing the identification of issues that might not be obvious to outsiders. Additionally, agencies can conduct internal processes more frequently and generally without incurring additional costs. A challenge with internal processes is the potential for, or at least the perception of, bias.

External Audits and Inventories: The simple fact that outside professionals conduct the processes lends instant credibility to the results and the home agency. Fresh, independent eyes can provide a comprehensive evaluation no matter its focus. A challenge could be the cost. However, most individual experts and private companies offering audits and inventories to law enforcement scale their fees and are cost-effective for most departments.

Many agencies conduct both processes, using internal and external personnel periodically. Internally, performing a rolling, scheduled inventory focusing on one section or type of evidence is useful in revealing discrepancies and rectifying them quickly. External audits and inventories can be scheduled annually, during a transition in department leadership, or if compliance or inventory problems arise. Combining these approaches can offer the most comprehensive oversight, balancing the familiarity of internal reviews with the objectivity of external evaluations.

Conclusion

Evidence room audits and inventories are separate actions. Inventories involve item-by-item accounting, while audits ensure compliance with legal and procedural standards. Both are essential for identifying and addressing potential issues before they become significant problems. Internal processes offer familiarity and frequency but could introduce bias, while external audits and inventories provide objective evaluations and indicate transparency in an agency’s operations.

A balanced approach incorporating both methods offers the most comprehensive oversight. By regularly conducting these processes, agencies can maintain compliance, ensure smooth operations, and help uphold the Criminal Justice system’s integrity.

 

FORTRESS PLUS SOLUTIONS

Fortress Plus Solutions (FPS) is your trusted long-term evidence storage and preservation partner. Our reputation, built on expert knowledge, the proven ability to get the job done, a state-of-the-art facility, and a central location in the greater Chicago area, allows us to serve thousands of departments and other entities, including art galleries, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and private collectors who require safe and secure storage solutions.

At FPS, our warehouse-type facility was designed from the ground up to securely store and preserve your items, providing ample space for clients for years to come.

Founded and operated by retired and active law enforcement professionals, FPS understands the unique challenges of evidence management. Our leadership team has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with law enforcement evidence custodians for decades. This extensive experience gives us the practical knowledge necessary to manage your long-term evidence storage and ensure the physical preservation of your items while strictly adhering to all relevant regulations and laws.

And that understanding goes beyond storage and preservation. We offer cost-effective services that several law enforcement agencies have taken advantage of, and each has been impressed with the results. We offer:

  • Evidence Room Audits
  • Evidence Room Inventories
  • Expert Testimony
  • Cold Case and Major Case Reviews
  • Polygraph Services

Our business model is centered around a deep understanding of how law enforcement agencies work. And that includes their budgets. We know that successful vendors must deliver value to government agencies and all clients. That’s why FPS offers scalable services, ensuring you only pay for what you need, making our solutions practical and affordable.

Discover FPS’s unmatched value in evidence storage, preservation, and additional services that go above and beyond. There’s never a charge for a friendly conversation or consultation, for that matter. Let’s connect!

Contact Fortress Plus Solutions today at 888-301-1320 or via email at contact@fpsusa.com.

Trusted Evidence Management: Why Agencies Nationwide Are Turning To Fortress Plus Solutions

Trusted Evidence Management: Why Agencies Nationwide Are Turning To Fortress Plus Solutions

In today’s legal landscape, properly managing criminal case evidence is one of the most critical and complicated tasks for any law enforcement agency. From maintaining decades-old evidence and documentation to managing inventories that have outgrown their storage space, departments grapple with potentially serious problems every day. These issues may call into question the integrity of the evidence, which can make or break public trust and the pursuit of justice.

Enter Fortress Plus Solutions (FPS), a company founded to provide real-life solutions to the problems law enforcement agencies face in evidence management. These solutions have made FPS a trusted partner for police departments across the country.

This blog explores how FPS’s expertise addresses evidence management challenges, focusing specifically on the evidence room inventory. We’ll discuss some of the challenges law enforcement agencies face regarding inventory management, some of the complications FPS has encountered when conducting client inventories, and how, with FPS’s help, departments can experience the fresh start their evidence rooms need.

The Challenges of Evidence Room Inventories

One of the primary challenges FPS encounters during inventories is the poor condition of evidence labels and documentation. Joe Altman, an FPS evidence custodian and inventory specialist, notes: “It’s common, especially for older items of evidence, to find their labels, once hand-written in ink, to be faded to the point where they are almost unreadable – and some are unreadable. This makes identifying the item very difficult and time-consuming.”

You might think that hand-written labels and other paper-only documentation systems are outdated; surprisingly, many agencies still rely on them. Besides degrading labels and documents, this system increases the risk of misplaced and lost records. Upon discovery, these situations make the inventory process exceedingly more difficult.

Most law enforcement agencies use some type of computer records system, and many of those have an evidence management module. However, even departments that utilize those modules don’t always use all their features. Using the word “features” is a misnomer, really, as many of these records systems are older and not easy to use. For example, the date and time an item is placed in the evidence room may be logged, but no other events establishing the chain of custody are entered. If an item were to leave the evidence room for any reason, it would create an inaccurate record in that database.

Of course, police departments across the country do use modern evidence management systems. These systems are simple to use and provide necessary documentation at the push of a few buttons.

Efficient Inventories Save Precious Resources

At FPS, our experienced professionals are experts at conducting evidence room inventories. Departments trust FPS to save them significant time and effort compared to conducting internal inventories. While periodic internal inventories are a best practice, having skilled, impartial professionals thoroughly review – eyes and hands-on – every piece of evidence can be invaluable, particularly for agencies struggling with overwhelming or mismanaged inventories.

Time, manpower, and accuracy are all aspects of the inventory process. They are all vital in ensuring the integrity of stored evidence, which serves as the foundation of evidence management. It’s a cornerstone we emphasize in every blog because it can never be taken for granted. Human error, shortcuts, or tampering can have far-reaching consequences beyond rendering evidence inadmissible in court. Mismanaged evidence undermines public trust and can call into question the integrity of the agency, its personnel, prosecutors, and the courts—essentially, the entire criminal justice system. It’s like a line of dominoes; if one topples, the rest may follow suit.

However, a thorough inventory identifies potential issues and allows agencies to resolve them before they escalate into costly operational or public relations nightmares. And having an outside organization conduct the inventory adds credibility and demonstrates transparency in department operations.

We can’t discuss efficiency without mentioning technology, and there are “haves” and “have-nots” in this arena. Let’s check out two eye-opening examples from real FPS client inventories.

Time is of the Essence

Working with Fortress Plus Solutions streamlines the inventory process without question, but the time required to complete an inventory can vary widely. The department’s record-keeping system and the volume of on-hand evidence are the main factors influencing the time.

For example:

  • An inventory of about four hundred items can take up to one full day if the department uses a paper-only system.
  • An inventory of twelve hundred items may only take five or six hours if the agency uses a modern computerized system.

The benefits of using a modern evidence management system cannot be overstated. Comparing the examples above is a testament to their efficiency. The best of these systems will feature the following:

  • Easy and accurate cataloging of items to include other identifying file information (metadata)
  • Barcode or RFID tag scanning for quick identification
  • Comprehensive chain of custody tracking
  • Digital storage and easy or automated saving and exporting of the records to ensure they remain accessible for years and, in some cases, forever.

FPS: A Reliable Partner for Law Enforcement

FPS has quickly positioned itself as a leader in the long-term evidence storage industry. Their expertise in evidence management and dedication to providing cost-effective services have quickly earned them a positive reputation in the public safety sector.

In addition to long-term evidence storage, FPS offers a range of services, including:

  • Evidence and Property Room Inventories
  • Evidence and Property Room Audits
  • Secure Evidence Transportation
  • Expert Testimony
  • Cold Case and Major Case Reviews
  • Polygraph Services

Their services are available nationwide, and FPS has completed inventories for police departments in Illinois, Florida, and Missouri. They are continuing to expand, with potential clients along the eastern seaboard. One notable client may entrust FPS with nearly ten thousand long-term evidentiary items.

Imagine having thousands of long-term storage pieces to account for in your evidence room, and then one day, all those items are no longer a burden. They are all safe, secure, and someone else’s responsibility – that being Fortress Plus Solutions.

Conclusion

Efficient and proper evidence management is a must for any law enforcement agency. While making it easier for evidence room personnel is a part of it, the more significant issue is maintaining the integrity of the evidence and the criminal justice process itself. Fortress Plus Solutions shares valuable expertise and insight with departments to help them navigate the complex world of evidence management. Law enforcement agencies nationwide can save time and manpower, safeguard their reputations, and maintain the public’s confidence by partnering with FPS.

 

Fortress Plus Solutions

Fortress Plus Solutions is your trusted partner for long-term evidence storage and preservation. Our reputation is built on expert knowledge, the proven ability to get the job done, a state-of-the-art facility, and a central location in the greater Chicago area, allowing us to serve thousands of departments and other entities, including art galleries, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and private collectors who require safe and secure storage solutions.

At FPS, our warehouse-type facility was designed from the ground up to securely store and preserve your items, providing ample space for clients for years to come.

Founded and operated by retired and active law enforcement professionals, FPS understands the unique challenges of evidence management. Our leadership team has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with law enforcement evidence custodians for decades. This extensive experience gives us the practical knowledge necessary to manage your long-term evidence storage and ensure the physical preservation of your items while strictly adhering to all relevant regulations and laws.

Our business model is centered around offering not just storage and preservation services, but also a deep understanding of how law enforcement agencies work. And that includes budget constraints. We know that successful vendors must deliver value to government clients. That’s why FPS offers scalable services, ensuring you only pay for what you need, making our solutions both practical and affordable.

Experience unmatched value in evidence storage and preservation with FPS. There’s no charge for a friendly conversation or consultation, for that matter. Let’s talk!

Contact Fortress Plus Solutions today at 888-301-1320 or via email at contact@fpsusa.com.

From Storage to Preservation: The Crucial Role of Evidence Integrity Over Time

From Storage to Preservation: The Crucial Role of Evidence Integrity Over Time

Evidence preservation is critical throughout the lifecycle of any physical evidence held by the police. Most states have evidence retention laws on the books that require PDs to hold onto criminal case evidence for a set number of months or years. Many states require homicide evidence to be held forever. Those regulations create storage challenges for the local evidence room as the evidence accumulates much faster than personnel can remove it.

No matter how difficult, law enforcement agencies must ensure the integrity of the evidence they maintain so that justice is served. Failure to preserve evidence properly jeopardizes individual cases and can undermine public trust in our legal system.

In this blog, we’ll examine the complex topic of long-term storage and preservation of evidence at the local level. Best of all, we’ll offer a solution to meeting the demands of long-term evidence preservation that works.

Long-Term Preservation Challenges 

  • Lack of Space: No local evidence room in this country can store an infinite inventory, and evidence is piling up in departments everywhere. When this happens, proper long-term storage conditions are challenging to maintain and may be impossible to provide for all types of evidence.
  • Environmental Conditions: Storage constraints may limit the number of items kept at their proper temperature and humidity levels. Failure to do so may cause them to degrade, rendering them useless for future examination and courtroom presentation.
  • Budget Constraints: Agencies with limited budgets may be unable to afford simple interior infrastructure improvements, conducting outside audits, or maintaining minimum staffing levels.
  • Long-Term Preservation Recognition and Planning: Police departments continually try to improve their performance and provide their communities with the most efficient and effective services possible. This applies to the local property and evidence function as well. Over the years, the scientific and law enforcement communities have worked together and separately to improve evidence collection, examination, testing, and initial storage. However, it could be argued that long-term evidence storage and preservation haven’t gotten equal consideration as (pardon the pun) evidenced by the inventory crisis in many PD evidence rooms today.

A New and On-Going Section Making the Consequences of Improper Storage and Preservation Tangible

From Collection to Chaos: Evidence Mishandling Leads to Dismissal

People v. A.M. (NY 2015)

A.M. was charged with drug trafficking in 2014. The case was dismissed in 2015, as transaction records and confiscated narcotics could not be located. The PD admitted that the evidence locker used had not been secured.

Cases like People v. A.M. punctuate the need for rigorous evidence management procedures and demonstrate why they must be followed without fail.

Best Practices for Evidence Storage and Preservation

  • Climate Controls: Maintaining appropriate temperature and humidity levels.
  • Efficient Use of Space: Maximizing storage capacity without compromising access.
  • Proper Packaging: Ensuring evidence is packaged to prevent contamination and degradation.
  • Regular Inventory Audits: Conduct frequent audits to ensure evidence is accounted for and properly stored.
  • Training: Providing continuous training for staff on evidence handling and storage protocols.
  • Policies and Procedures: Implementing comprehensive policies and procedures to guide evidence management.
  • Planning for the Future: Developing long-term strategies to address evidence storage needs.

Words of Caution: Outside Storage Containers or Pods 

It may be tempting for a department to rent one of those big old box-car-type or pod-type storage units to add to their storage capacity. Units like that would increase inventory capacity, to be sure, but what happens when that limited space fills up? And will those containers preserve what’s inside? Let’s briefly explore this option and its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages 

  • Temporary Solution: Increase the amount of available storage space.
  • Cost Effective: Containers may be fairly inexpensive for short-term use.

Disadvantages

  • Logistics: It can be tough to place the container to ensure it is secure and monitored 24/7/365. Its location could cause access and lack of space problems, like parking, outside the station house. Modern inventory tracking systems that use radio frequencies may only work in the evidence room, creating a duo, paper, and computer-based tracking system. Such a system lends itself to mistakes in documentation and unneeded extra work to rectify them. Any facility managed by agency personnel separate from the evidence room itself adds time to retrieving evidence and any task associated with using it. Leadership should expect extra effort and time to complete the work related to an outside container.
  • Weather: High or low temperatures, severe weather, flooding, and other environmental conditions can easily complicate their use.
  • Maintaining Evidence Integrity: The weather conditions may cause certain items to degrade or even be destroyed. The documentation and chain of custody records may prove more challenging to complete while escalating the chance for human error.
  • Regulations Compliance: External containers may not adhere to state laws, satisfy best practices, or follow the agency’s own policies on evidence storage.
  • Legal Issues: Any deviances in storage or preservation regulations that affect evidence on hand can be challenged in court. If a judge agrees, evidence may be ruled inadmissible, or the case could be dismissed. An agency may be liable if evidence is lost, no longer viable, or destroyed due to improper storage conditions.

The risks and challenges of using outside containers can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of the local PD evidence room. Having to defend itself in just one lawsuit arising from this storage option could easily wipe out any cost savings and damage the department’s reputation. We recommend proceeding with an abundance of caution when considering outside storage containers.

Conclusion

Preserving evidence for months or years isn’t easy. It can become impossible in facilities that are overwhelmed with evidence. Most preservation problems involve evidence that requires special environmental storage conditions. 

No matter the amount of new evidence coming in, it will get stored. But it may not be adequately preserved. And if it’s not, it probably can’t be. 

And therein lies the rub. Evidence must remain preserved.

It’s a law, best practice, regulation, protocol, procedure, and the right thing to do. It’s all of those things. Evidence preservation allows us to take a second look at what we use to help us make big, life-changing decisions within our criminal justice system. And we don’t always get them right the first time.

So, how do law enforcement agencies preserve evidence in the long term?

Fortress Plus Solutions 

The answer to that question is Fortress Plus Solutions.

FPS is a private company providing law enforcement with long-term evidence storage and preservation services. FPS is located in greater Chicago, allowing them to service thousands of departments and other entities such as art galleries, prosecutors, defense attorneys, private collectors, and others who require safe, secure storage services. Additionally, Fortress Plus Solutions ensures the preservation of all items they store, regardless of the duration.

FPS does so in a warehouse-type facility designed from the ground up to securely store, preserve, and provide enough storage space for clients for years and years to come. 

All the preservation measures mentioned in this piece are in place and already preserving their law enforcement client’s evidentiary items. 

Fortress Plus Solutions was the brainchild of retired and active law enforcement professionals who oversee its operations and have worked with evidence management regulations for decades. They know their clients and understand their needs.

And that includes preservation.

Your solution is out there. Take the long-term evidence storage and preservation load off your personnel’s shoulders.

Contact Fortress Plus Solutions today! 888-301-1320 or Email: Contact FPS

Evidence Retention Laws: The Dirty Little Secret in Evidence Room Overcrowding?

Evidence Retention Laws: The Dirty Little Secret in Evidence Room Overcrowding?

Okay, maybe “dirty little secret” is a bit much. Still, one factor leading to today’s evidence room overcrowding crisis is the state-mandated evidence retention periods that police agencies must abide by. Our blogs have alluded to the myriad of state laws, standards, best practices, and policies and procedures law enforcement agencies must follow hundreds of times now. But we’ve never delved into how evidence retention laws affect the operations of evidence rooms across the country, and more specifically, we’ve not discussed their impact on the inventories that police agencies must maintain. We’re about to take on that topic, discuss why those laws are essential, and explore how to lessen their impacts.

Evidence Retention Periods: What are They and What do They Do?

Evidence retention periods are state laws that mandate the time agencies must hold onto criminal case evidence. These periods last well beyond the end of the initial finding of guilt or innocence, dismissal of the case, or the closure/suspension of the investigation. These regulations recognize that evidence must remain available for appeals or future legal needs.

Put Yourself in This Person’s Shoes

Every few months, national news outlets have a report such as this – put yourself in this person’s shoes: After spending many years in prison, convicted of a heinous crime, your case is reopened. DNA tests didn’t exist during the investigation. They do now. Such testing is performed on the evidence that remains available – thanks to the state’s retention laws. The results indicate what you have maintained all along. You weren’t even at the crime scene, and you are innocent.

A judge agrees.

You are set free.

That example has to be the most powerful aspect of the retention laws across the country. A close second is identifying the correct perpetrator and charging them with the crime.

Real Life Effects

State-mandated retention periods naturally cause evidence to accumulate over time. No matter the case status, its evidence must stay put and remain viable until its retention period runs its course. That could mean for decades or even forever.

So, evidence rooms continually receive new items while keeping the old. Most evidence facilities weren’t built to accommodate the amount of long-term storage items that they are required to store.

But, store them they must.

That’s when inventories become disorganized. Left to fester like an old sore, the word “disorganized” no longer tells the tale. “Chaotic” becomes a more accurate descriptor of not just the inventory but the environment of the evidence room itself. Individual items become hard to find. They can be misplaced, lost even, stored in places that are too hot or humid, and generally they become much more difficult to manage according to the standards of evidence storage. 

And let’s go back to putting yourself in another’s shoes. If you had to go to work every day in a place that’s truly chaotic – when it doesn’t have to be – how would you feel about your job? Or the organization you work for? How long before your motivation hits zero? And when that happens, what would you do?

Compliance, Constraints, and Maybe Someday?

Agencies must comply with their state’s retention laws. Failure is not an option here as there could be severe legal repercussions if evidence is needed but has already been destroyed.

Most departments cannot afford to build new facilities, and many don’t have the space to do so. While it is not impossible—a police department in central Illinois is about to break ground on a new stand-alone evidence and property facility— but it was seven years in the making. This solution would have to be considered an over-the-horizon solution for most agencies. It would not address the evidence room chaos that calls for immediate action to rectify.

The need to store physical evidence will never go away, at least not with our current technology. Maybe someday we’ll have something like Star Trek’s Holodeck, which used holograms, like millions of them all at once, to create accurate  3-D scenes with which the crew could interact. Apply that technology to evidence inventories. That would save space. Wonder what chain of custody and other legal ramifications would be like for that? Probably pretty complicated, huh?

But it still seems like a good idea.

Solutions and Temporary Fixes

Audits and Purges: Conducting regular audits will identify items eligible for release or destruction. Setting up and sticking to a regular audit schedule will allow personnel to petition the court for an item’s removal as soon as possible after its retention period has been satisfied. This process will purge items from the inventory as quickly as the law allows.

Infrastructure Improvements: Building new or remodeling present facilities can serve as a long-term solution, but departments considering this must take into account that it does nothing to help them in the short term. Interior equipment like high-density shelving units and large-capacity refrigerators can ease overcrowding in evidence rooms and should not be overlooked as a way to maximize storage space.

Technology and Training: Acquiring the most up-to-date evidence management programs, ones that fit your needs and work best for your agency, will go a long way toward helping your personnel manage your inventory. Modern programs feature bar-coding or RFID technology that speeds up check-in and locating items in the inventory. These programs should also include modules that track evidence retention periods and notify personnel automatically when those periods have been satisfied.

Along with appropriate software training, evidence technicians should be formally trained to understand and perform their jobs to the best of their ability. They should be updated on new laws and procedures and equipped to succeed.

And while this doesn’t help with inventories, it could go a long way toward keeping your evidence techs on board your agency. They should be in the loop and informed about what their employer is doing to rectify a chaotic evidence room.

Off-Site Storage: A few private companies scattered across the country specialize in evidence storage, preservation, and management. These companies professionally provide long-term evidence storage and can be the answer to the overcrowded evidence room problem – exacerbated by state retention laws – that police agencies are experiencing today.

Conclusion

While retention laws ensure that evidence is available for future legal needs, they contribute to the growing overcrowding problem in evidence rooms nationwide.

Audits and purging, infrastructure improvements, training and technology upgrades, and off-site storage can all play a role in improving the on-hand criminal evidence inventory crisis that is negatively affecting police operations and, potentially, the criminal justice system itself.

Agencies should be proactive regarding this issue. If you are from a department with no problems with capacity in its evidence room, let this blog serve as a warning and allow you to plan ahead so you don’t reach the crisis stage as many other departments have.

Fortress Plus Solutions

Fortress Plus Solutions is one of those companies just alluded to. Located in the greater Chicago area, its centralized location in the lower forty-eight states allows thousands of law enforcement and other clients to access its services. Staffed with evidence management experts, FPS guarantees it meets or exceeds all the same standards and laws that the public sector must follow. They do so in a modern, secure facility that’s staffed 24/7 and designed to handle the storage and preservation needs of any type and size of evidence you have on hand.

Fortress Plus Solution’s services are customized to its clients’ needs, and its fees reflect that. With over one hundred years of law enforcement leadership experience on staff or directly supporting our mission, we understand modern law enforcement’s budget limitations and that our services must be cost-effective.

And they are.

Contracting with Fortress Plus Solutions is the solution to the increasing evidence management and storage problem facing law enforcement agencies today.

To learn more about our services, click here.