Blogs

Remember William Shatner's voice-over during the opening credits for the original Star Trek TV series? It began: "Space. The final frontier." It perfectly set the stage for the ambitious new sci-fi series about the crew of a starship on a five-year mission to explore beyond our solar system into the reaches of seemingly infinite space. Outer...

Privatizing long-term evidence storage for law enforcement is a cost-effective, practical option for many agencies. However, the practice of safeguarding, handling, and storing criminal case evidence is governed by federal and state law, rules of evidence, and even the fundamentals of science in some cases. All these regulations must be strictly...

Traditionally, law enforcement agencies have stored evidence within in-house facilities. Now, they have an option for their long-term evidence storage. The private sector has stepped up and provided long-term evidence storage solutions for police agencies, and this option has proven quite valuable and effective. Many standards must be adhered to...

With police department's evidence and property rooms operating near, at, or over capacity all over the country, agencies are searching for workable solutions to tackle their lack of space. The problem isn't just that many have run out of storage space, but that situation also creates operational and regulatory compliance issues. An obvious...

Criminal case evidence must be stored within a secure facility, and chain of custody documentation must be maintained for each piece of evidence stored within it. In a perfect system, all evidentiary items are stored in adherence to regulations, in their proper environments, their exact locations are known, and they are easily retrievable. Law...

Congratulations! You have just been sworn in as a new chief of police. While you will have many opportunities to demonstrate your leadership abilities, ordering an evidence room audit can help set the tone of your administration. It immediately indicates that you value accountability, transparency, and integrity in yourself and your department....

Are you a sheriff or police chief whose agency needs more space in your aging evidence room? Are your access control, video, or alarm systems draining that maintenance line item of your budget? What about the HVAC system? Is it providing the varying temperature and humidity levels required for proper evidence preservation? Should we even mention...

What's one thing that Chicago's world-famous museums and art galleries, individual owners of valuable collections, and other organizations that store valuable or even priceless items have in common? They all have the opportunity to keep their precious collectibles in the same facility, with the same safeguards, that many local law enforcement...

Maintaining evidence integrity is necessary for any law enforcement agency for many reasons, one being that it's the law. Along with those federal and state laws come many other regulations, standards, and best practices that agencies must comply with. The sum of those regulations should equal evidence integrity if practiced.  Evidence room...

While a thorough evidence room audit will examine its operations, systems, and security, in most instances, the first benefit that comes to mind is ensuring the inventory is appropriately maintained and accounted for. It’s what police property and evidence rooms do. Regular audits of evidence rooms can uncover discrepancies in inventory...

When exploring the private sector's solution to your long-term evidence storage problems, there's much to consider. Private companies employ experienced professionals who utilize the industry's best practices and have facilities designed specifically for the job. Law enforcement personnel must plan for the transition, taking a deep research dive...

Law enforcement agencies have a legal and moral obligation to ensure the integrity of the criminal case evidence they maintain in their property and evidence facilities. Doing so is at the very foundation of a fair criminal justice system. Safeguarding and preserving evidence properly is guided by laws, standards, and specific procedures and...

Recently, the chief of a large U.S. city police department went before her city council to describe the "deplorable" conditions of her police headquarters building. The facility, built in 1968, was experiencing an infestation of cockroaches, rats, and other physical plant issues, making it nearly unworkable for its personnel.  A huge issue was...

While patrol functions, SWAT Teams, and major crime investigations are often in the limelight of a police department's operations, back at the station is a facility and personnel who will probably never be featured on a station tour. However, the role they play in the prosecution of criminal suspects is just as important as those in the daily...

Private, long-term evidence storage companies assist law enforcement agencies in their evidence management operations. They provide: Off-site, secure, alarmed, unmarked, and monitored facilities Proper storage environments so evidence is appropriately maintained An unbroken chain of custody documentation Large facilities and interior...

Law enforcement agencies are turning to the private sector for solutions to their long-term evidence storage needs. This industry has been around for over 20 years, and many departments take advantage of their services – if they are lucky enough to have one in their area. Presently, there are only a handful of companies offering this service in...

Professional law enforcement evidence managers realize the benefits of transparency and the fact that their operations must abide by numerous standards and laws to preserve the evidence in their care. They are knowledgeable in the standards and procedures they must follow. And they know they, along with the job they do, will be held accountable...

The legal and compliance landscape that law enforcement must traverse when it comes to evidence management isn’t a flat and easy journey. It’s complicated, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. There are laws and standards that must be followed so the admissibility of evidence if challenged, will stand up in court. More importantly, processing...

Proper evidence management is one of law enforcement's most basic but vital daily tasks. Collection, packaging, preservation, transportation, storage, and retrieval - all while maintaining a documented chain of custody history - must be accomplished in a near-perfect manner to ensure the integrity of the evidence throughout its journey through...