Washington County Sheriff's Office
Washington County Sheriff's Office
PROPERTY EVIDENCE MANUAL
Sheriff Rob Gordon
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for establishing policies
and procedures which serve to insure property seized from the public is safely,
legally and efficiently processed, secured and maintained for admissibility in
court, until returned to the owner or otherwise disposed of in accordance with
state law. The Property-Evidence Unit exists to process, store and dispose of
property, which may constitute evidence in criminal investigations and
prosecutions. Property related solely to civil suits or other actions in civil
court should not be stored in the property-evidence storage facilities of the
Sheriff's Office.
Guidelines established in this manual are intended to insure that the safety of
the staff and the public are considered first.
A professional property management system depends on the establishment of strict
procedures for the staff on property handling, security and disposition. Only
then can the public and the courts rely, with confidence, on the
property-evidence function in the Sheriff’s Office. The end results of
mismanagement of this function are unsuccessful prosecution of criminal cases
and the loss of public confidence in the Sheriff’s Office and our staff.
This manual is intended to serve as a guide for members of the Sheriff’s Office
and all users of the Sheriff's Property Evidence Unit.
This manual is considered to be a living document. As legislative changes occur
with respect to evidence handling, these procedures will change as well. Other
changes may be necessary at times to reflect changes in policies of the
Sheriff’s Office or in physical locations of storage facilities.
The general policy and expectation of the Sheriff’s Office is that
property-evidence seized by members be submitted to the Property-Evidence Unit
with completed reports prior to the end of the member’s shift. Each exception to
this policy requires the prior review and authorization of the member’s shift
commander.
Revised 11/05/03