As many of you know, I.A.P.E. is always searching for local stories about law enforcement property rooms and related human-interest issues. A couple of years ago we began searching the Internet for such stories. Much to my dismay, I began finding an inordinate number of news stories about items missing from property rooms that resulted in lost criminal cases, and in employees being indicted, fired, imprisoned or even killed. You may have noticed over the past few years that the stories in some cases were not recent, although we felt they were still relevant.

We have found such stories to be especially useful in illustrating to decision-makers in the law enforcement organizations how important the property and evidence function is to their agencies. Frequently they have an expression of amazement on their faces as they realize that their career longevity may depend on the independent action of a property room clerk with minimal training and supervision.

The process of requesting stories in all of our classes, retrieving stories from local new sources, and searching the Internet has been a somewhat slow and frequently arduous task, but the results have been beneficial to our cause. Now the QUANTUM LEAP has taken place. The I.A.P.E. recently subscribed to Lexis Nexis Inc., a subscription news service that monitors the Internet and about 7,000 newspapers on a daily basis for stories related to topics selected by the subscriber. For the first run on the first day of our subscription I used the search criteria "Evidence Locker." With that limited input, the service located 928 articles, some of which are highlighted in this article.

In future issues you will see the end result of much more complicated and thorough searches, as we essentially monitor the world for such things as lost evidence, property officer, officer fired, chief removed, cocaine stolen and many other combinations.

Please note from the dates listed on these articles how current these articles are, with almost all being 1999 cases. Subscription to the Lexis Nexis service will allow us to provide you with examples and case studies that are absolutely current as well as on point. When you see one that hits home, please share it with your managers.

They need to know the trauma of how bad the property situation can get, in order to appreciate how well you manage it within your respective departments.
 

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
January 11, 1999   Dateline: Los Angeles
Agent accused of drug theft pleads innocent to tax evasion

A former California State drug agent accused of stealing 650 pounds of cocaine from an evidence locker pleaded innocent Monday to charges of money laundering and tax evasion. Nine year veteran agent *****, 43, is accused of selling cocaine he stole from a Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement office in Riverside. The agent was previously indicted on six federal drug charges. Two counts were added Monday.

The tax evasion charge was based on his failure to disclose an estimated $200,000 he earned from cocaine sales on his 1997 tax return, prosecutors said.
 

The Tampa Tribune
January 27, 1999   Dateline: Bartow, FL
Dodging a Bullet

Two Polk County courthouse workers found themselves dodging a bullet Tuesday morning after a homemade gun went off while one of them was holding it.

Court Clerk ***** had just handed the weapon, which was identified by police as a "zip gun," to evidence custodian ***** when it fired a .22-caliber bullet about 8:20 a.m. The bullet ricocheted off a steel door and lodged in a suspended ceiling tile. ***** Police seized the gun last summer to be used as evidence in a domestic violence trial, which had been held six days before the bullet fired.
 

The Morning Call (Allentown, P A)
February 5, 1999   Phil Boyle & Debbie Garlicki
City Officer Faces Drug Charges

Officer ***** was charged with theft and possession of a controlled substance after his wife reported during a current domestic violence investigation that he was addicted and had stolen $1,600 worth of cocaine from the police evidence locker ten years ago. The Officer had since been promoted to sergeant, but has now resigned and is out on bond pending trial.

According to the officer, the department's procedure when drugs were no longer needed for court was to sign off the paperwork stating that the drugs had been destroyed, but actually to just throw the drug envelopes into an unsecured 55gallon drum in the vice office until enough accumulated that they decided to conduct a drug destruction. The officer reportedly stole the drugs, which had already been reported as destroyed, from the drum.
 

Here are two quotes from Evidence and Property Management, Copperhouse Publishing, 1998, by Joseph T. Latta and George E. Rush.

Page 119: "Many departments are requiring officers to place a wire tie (similar to a wire handcuff) into the barrel or cylinder of all handguns. This makes the gun inoperable until the wire is removed. This is also a good practice when releasing weapons to the public."

Page 151: "When drugs or narcotics are being readied for disposal, each and every item must be accounted for and listed on the Narcotic For Destruction List by case and control number. A person outside the property function must oversee the final comparison between the disposal list and the actual narcotics envelopes."