Checks and Balances

I've worked with hundreds of agencies to evaluate their procedures and policies. I often find gaps in the processes where there are no checks and balances. For example:

• The officers are required to indicate the locker number where they submitted the evidence. However, the evidence staff does not document the specific locker from which they received the evidence. Why, then, are the officers noting the locker number? I recommend they either implement the policy to document the locker it was received from or discontinue having officers note the locker.
• Evidence is signed out to an officer for the purpose of going to court. However, the agency does not have a procedure in place to verify whether the item reached the court, which would then prompt them to change the evidence's location from the officer to "admitted in court." The chain of custody continues to show that the item is in the officer's possession when, in fact, it is now with the court. I recommend that agencies provide a court receipt to the officer when the evidence is released to them, with instructions to either return the evidence or return the receipt showing it was admitted in court.
• Agencies send letters to the legal owners notifying them that they can claim their property. The letter indicates there is a deadline to claim it, such as 30 days. The evidence staff are prompt in sending the letters; however, the agency lacks a tickler system to monitor the 30-day period. I've seen agencies where letters were sent to the owner months, sometimes years ago, and they still have the evidence. I have some recommendations for monitoring that time period in my blog section called "dispo methods".

Your agency should routinely evaluate its policies and procedures to ensure they meet their desired goals. If an existing policy lacks the balance to enforce it, the policy is in vain. Good checks and balances are essential to smooth running property and evidence facility.

Conducting routine audits is another way to ensure checks and balances. Agencies often use the words "audit" and "inventory" interchangeably, but they are drastically different. An inventory is a full accounting of everything you have in a specific location or the entire property room. It verifies all items are accounted for with accurate supporting documentation. An audit is different in scope and purpose, with the primary goal to review the policies, procedures, and actions of an operation to determine if it meets recognized standards and follows its own policies. It is also imperative that audits be performed by an impartial party: someone who does not supervise or have responsibilities for the property and evidence unit.