This is the eighth in a series of articles following an editorial introducing the issue of professional standards for law enforcement Property Room management.  To recap, the following articles have been published in preceding issues of The Evidence Log, starting with the editorial "Who Makes Property Standards?" two years ago in Volume 96, Number 2 of 2.

1) Organizational Placement, Staffing and Hours
2) Duties of the Property Officer
3) Property Room Policy
4) Specific Policy Suggestions
5) Temporary Evidence Storage
6) Property Room Layout and Design
7) Layout and Design for the Big Three

In this issue we move into packaging and storage standards, starting off with general guidelines and two of the big three: money and narcotics.  In the next issue, we will continue packaging and storage standards and deal with other specific types of "problem" evidence, such as syringes, clothing with bodily fluids, flammables, etc.

General Packaging and Storage Standards: 
 

Since space is such a valuable commodity in a property room, everything possible must be done to maximize storage capability through standardized packaging and storage techniques.  Such efforts also help to make property retrieval as convenient and efficient as possible.  It is imperative that property packaging standards are developed, that all employees of the department be thoroughly trained in them, and that they be regularly monitored for compliance.

One of the most wasteful practices in storage space management is the lack of packaging standards.  An example can be as simple as the size of envelopes used.  By using inefficient sizes, much space is wasted storing such things as small documents, a cigarette butt, a citation, a bullet or a cartridge casing.  Having a variety of envelope sizes available, and specific storage locations for each, maximizes efficiency.

The two photos on the next page of this article depict efficient methods to standardize both packaging and storing property and evidence.  The first shows several standard sized envelopes being stored by size.  The next shows how utilizing banker boxes or other similar boxes, especially if you can put evidence from a single case in one box, can substantially reduce time for searching for items on shelves.  Consideration may be given to providing a specific area within the property room to house only boxes of the same size.  Since each box should be used to store evidence related to only one case, you would choose a smaller packaging method for those cases having only a small amount of evidence.  Remember also, that firearms, money, and narcotics should not be mixed with other evidence.  In addition, each type of package should have a specific, designated location on which the label/sticker identifying the item should be affixed.

One of the simplest methods to insure that all property and evidence is properly packaged is to develop a photo Property Packaging Manual or Training Bulletin.  This booklet, usually in a 3-ring binder, describes packaging standards for the types of evidence that are handled on a regular basis, and includes a photo illustration of each type of item properly packaged.  Most Property Specialists would be able to list fifteen or twenty items that include the types of property most routinely processed.  After identifying those items that are most frequently handled, the Property Specialist should determine the most effective way of packaging that item, and the type container and storage location in which it can be stored most efficiently.  Some of the items that should be considered as candidates for establishing such a packaging standard are:

1. Firearms
2. Currency
3. Narcotics
4. Documents
5. Alcoholic beverages
6. Syringes
7. Sharps (knives)
8. Audio and video tapes
9. Jewelry
10. Clothing
11. License plates
12. Bio-hazardous material
13. Fireworks
14. Blood samples
15. Sexual assault kits

Providing photographic and written standards also gives the Property Specialist more justification for returning improperly packaged evidence to the officer for correction.  The photographic illustrations take the guesswork out of packaging.  If everything is packaged and stored in the prescribed manner, then retrieving the stored property becomes more efficient as well.

When improperly packaged property or evidence is booked into the Department, the "right of refusal" should be exercised by the Property Specialist and the property should be returned to the submitting officer.  In some Departments whose organization is such that a civilian Property Specialist would be refusing property packaged by an officer, the notification of the refusal is relayed through the property supervisor or the officer's supervisor.

Another packaging suggestion is one which "plans ahead.”  This very simple policy decision can make accounting for and disposing of both currency and narcotics much easier, and the cost of a little extra paperwork can greatly reduce both handling time and the chance of a disposal error.  The policy is to use a separage property tag for currency, for narcotics, for firearms, and for property with different known owners.  It is much easier to handle and document the disposition of property on a property tag when the tag contains only a single type of property, or property from a single owner.  When this is done and the contents of a tag are signed off for disposal, the entire contents of the tag can be moved to a secure disposal location in preparation for the appropriate disposal technique, which could even be for release to the owner.

Standards – Currency

Extra security measures for handling and receiving should be taken when, from whatever source, items are considered to be sensitive, high in value, or otherwise constituting an increased security risk.  Guidelines are provided for handling items such as money, firearms and weapons, blood and other body fluids, and drugs.  Drugs should be packaged  in tamper-proof protective packaging.  CALEA 84.1.1

No matter how extensive the precautions taken to safeguard items entering the property system, extra measures should always be effected in accepting and controlling money booked into agency custody.  Money - whether the personal property of an arrestee, the stakes in a gambling game, or the fruits of a crime - is one of the major sources of complaints against police personnel. Money should always be stored separately from other property items, preferably in a safe or other suitable receptacle that can be locked. Substantial amounts of money ($50 or more) should be counted and verified by a supervisor. IACP Policy paper

Commentary: Some items of in-custody property by their very nature require extra protection, security, and handling precautions.  Items such as money, precious metals, jewelry, firearms, and drugs are some that should be considered.  The agency may set its own guidelines and determine the degree of extra security required.  Providing locked containers, such as vaults, lockers, or interior rooms, should satisfy the requirements Of the standard.  CALEA, 84.1.2

The Two-Man Rule - A System designed to prohibit a single individual from having access to or exercising custody over narcotic and dangerous drug evidence by requiring the presence at all times of at least two authorized persons, each capable of detecting incorrect or unauthorized procedures in the task being performed.  DEA, 1974, Page 9.

Management must limit and specify the amount of cash that is authorized to be maintained in the department's vault.  Funds that are accessible to numerous employees are a threat to security.  The use of temporary employees assigned to this function should be avoided, and each individual must be directly and solely accountable for the cash under his or her control.  CAPE - Property Manual, Page 54, 11/11/95

Cash or other valuables, such as jewelry and bonds, do not, in themselves, pose physical danger in most situations.  It should be noted, however, that extreme caution must be used, not only when handling these, but particularly in the storage and maintenance of such high profile items.  The following are suggested guidelines for the acceptable storage of valuables.

Vault should be constructed of concrete or block walls and must be impervious.

Locking mechanism should be such so that two persons are needed for entry e.g. key lock/combination lock and alarm code.

Vault should be alarmed independent of general storage intrusion alarm.

Alarm system should consist of intrusion alarm with door contacts and should also include infrared or motion sensors. 

Storage scheme should be consistent with the overall storage location scheme of the property room.  CAPE - Property Manual, Page 29, 11/11/95

The envelope should provide space to list two subjects, with boxes to indicate status (e.g. victim, suspect, or owner.  Any time an officer seizes currency and knows the owner, the currency should be handled, counted, and documented separately in the name of the owner, Commingling of cash from different people can only confuse follow-up investigation and release of the money.  It is recommended that cash be separately packaged and documented any time an owner is known.

A directive or property manual needs to further document the handling of money or currency that is booked into the property room.  The policy needs to require a "two person rule" policy for counting and verification, a witnessing officer policy, a packaging standard, and procedures to remove the currency as quickly as possible from the vault.  A "two person rule" insures that a second person counts money prior to any funds being deposited into the property room.  This rule is not solely to reduce the chance of theft and increase accuracy, as it sometimes is equally important to convince a jury or judge that the handling of evidence leaves no room for error. Such safe-guards can go a long way toward that goal.
 

A rule such as this one must be universally adhered to, because if a person fails to heed the rule and a discrepancy is discovered, the failure to comply with the policy may be interpreted by some as an indicator of guilt.  Issues which frequently are addressed inadequately in policy and practice are the counting of the money, verification by a second officer, and recounting upon receipt, if that is done.

Policy should require that currency be refused by the Property Management Unit if the booking officer has not obtained a verification signature for counting the money, before placing it in the envelope or other container, and sealing it.  It is not necessary for the Property Specialist to count the currency when it is received as long as the money envelope is properly sealed and the currency has been documented by denomination and witnessed by a second officer.

Once money has been approved for disposition by deposit to the city (or county, state, district, etc.), the actual transfer should be made as quickly as possible for two reasons.  First, such money is at the greatest risk of theft, because there is no owner to "miss it." Second, the amounts tend to accumulate rather quickly, and the city is losing interest until the money is actually deposited.

Department policy should set thresholds which would automatically initiate transfer of funds from the vault to a city account. $2,500 is suggested as an appropriate compromise between higher, which might be an unacceptable theft risk and loss of interest, and lower, which might result in excessive work transferring smaller amounts very frequently.

When the currency is eventually transferred out, a person from outside the property function, using the two person rule, should witness the opening of the currency envelope, verify the amount, and produce the necessary transmittal to transfer the currency to the Finance Department.  That will protect the Property Specialist from accusation if the envelope is ever short, as the officer who counted and submitted the money months earlier will generally insist that his or her count was accurate.  The "two person rule" protects everyone in the organization, while holding each accountable.  In the event the actual currency count doesn't match the count documented on the envelope, it must immediately be reported to a supervisor so that a thorough investigation can be conducted according to the Department's written policy for such situations.

Standards - Narcotics

Narcotics evidence shall never be commingled with any other property types.  All items under this category must be handled and processed with extreme caution.  These are recommended features of a narcotics storage room.

The property should be entered into storage in a uniform manner.  Methods for preparing, labeling, and recording property should be established.  Responsibility for these tasks may be assigned.  CALEA, 84.1.1.

Since most of the narcotics items seized seem to fit in a standard envelope, a storage and retrieval system could reasonably be built around the envelope.  A form printed on one side of the envelope could provide locations for all of the appropriate information needed from the booking officer, in a manner very similar to that used for currency envelopes.  Obvious additions would be types of drug thought to be contained therein, tests requested, locations for the person transporting it to and from the Crime Lab to initial with date and time, and a place to attach the test results.  Providing a standardized format for marking the envelope decreases the chance that information will be accidentally omitted, and increases the overall professionalism of the presentation when the evidence is introduced into court as an exhibit.

Whether envelopes are stored in file cabinets, trays, boxes, bins, or some other type of container, the dimensions need to be based on the envelope.  Then the dimensions of the shelving need to be based on the container selected.  Each container must be directly accessible, and each of its contents must be easily identifiable.  Big boxes stacked on each other are just too awkward, inefficient, and dangerous for continued use.

Narcotics which have been signed off for destruction are much more susceptible to theft, especially by substitution, under the assumption that they will not ever be tested or requested again for court.  Narcotics must be maintained in the security of the narcotics room until their actual destruction, but those that have been signed off for destruction should be immediately isolated in a specially secured area or container in the property room.  Leaving them freely accessible to all of the people in the unit is totally unacceptable, and is practically inviting abuse.