If you want to see an ideal design for a police department property room, go grocery shopping!

I'm serious. At the typical supermarket, hardly an inch of shelf space is wasted, because retailers aim to get the largest selection of merchandise in the shelf space they are given. Items are generally visible and easy to find. Cans and boxes stack to the top of every space; how many times can you see through to the back of grocery shelves? Yet they are stored safely enough that a child can pull an item without triggering an avalanche of goods upon his head.

This is the way evidence should be stored; in a manner that is space efficient, convenient and safe for users. Most police departments would not argue with this logic, yet few actually employ it in their property rooms. The fact is that most people don't spend much time thinking about the best ways to use space. I was in the grocery business for several years before moving into police work, and I confess to being a "space freak".

But I maintain that a miserly attitude toward space can be extremely helpful in making the most of a property room. From more than 100 property management classes I've instructed throughout the U.S., I've observed that most officers are, for starters, too quick to believe that they are truly out of space for evidence storage. Then they compound the mistake, addressing the perceived space shortage by either I) cramming the overload more tightly into the shelves and drawers and piling it to the ceiling, or 2) seeking additional room for the property area. The former is inefficient and often unsafe, and the latter will win you few friends with those responsible for municipal budgets. Oftentimes, neither is necessary.

As project manager for a new Police and Fire Headquarters for the City of Burbank, I recently had the opportunity to design a property room from scratch to our specifications. Our architect estimated that we would need 10,000 square feet for our property and evidence work and storage areas. We carne back with a design that required 3,500 square feet, saving the city several hundred thousand dollars in new construction costs. After over three years in the new building, I can report that our design not only works, but the property area is only about 60 percent full.

I learned in the grocery business that space efficiency is not rocket science, but the adoption of ongoing practices based on common sense. To begin with, most reputed space problems in the property rooms are really policy problems. Property rooms tend to be the poor stepchild in a police department "family"; they are largely ignored until there is a crisis. This means that officers continue to cram the area with new case property and evidence, with little thought to the old stuff that continues to accumulate.

Since about one percent of property and evidence ever goes to court, there's a strong case for purging much more property than most police departments do. Obviously, we can't hinder prosecutions, but in Burbank we've established purging policies that have enormously reduced the amount of property and evidence we hold indefinitely, without one instance in which a court case was hampered because we got rid of needed evidence. I've discussed purging strategies in The Evidence Log (Volume 1999, No.2 and No.3), so I'll refrain from further detail here.

Purge as we may, we of course still have to store a certain, ever-growing amount of property and evidence for new cases. The second key to property room space efficiency is to make the most of your storage capability. Burbank Police Officer Steve Berdrow explained in The Evidence Log(c) (Volume 1997, No.4) how to store small items in one of five different-sized manila envelopes, then file them in plastic drawers manufactured specifically to fit those sizes.

In this article I will cover how we store larger items, which comprise the bulk of our space needs. In a nutshell, we use compact storage. In contrast to stationary shelving, compact storage systems use wheeled carriages mounted on floor rails. They are compacted when not in use, and opened upon demand when a user needs to enter a particular aisle. Their advantage is that by eliminating the need for multiple aisles, they can double storage capacity of an area, or reduce floor space needed for comparable storage by as much as 50%.

The Burbank Police Department property compact storage system includes four two sided mobile carriages, with a fixed one-sided carriage at each end. The carriages are 20 feet long and about seven feet high. Although they weigh thousands of pounds each, they are moved easily with mechanical assist controls, which multiply hand-cranked leverage through concealed roller chains and sprockets. The carriages contain safety locks to prevent accidental closing when someone is in the aisle.

About two-thirds of the property and evidence items in the compact storage system are stored in standard "banker" boxes. We chose these because they are readily available and inexpensive. The shelving is designed to accommodate the precise dimensions of the boxes plus an inch of room on the top and sides, so there is finger-room but no wasted space.

Case materials stored in boxes are those with too much material for even our largest size of storage envelope. Each case receives a minimum of one box, with more if the volume warrants. The boxes are bar-coded with sequential numbers by case for easy tracking, and stored so that the most recent case is on the bottom right-hand portion of the shelving, and the oldest is on the upper left. The location information is entered into the computer. When a case is closed, we purge the box or boxes, and move everything else to the left to fill the hole. By conducting this moving process every six weeks, we keep the area organized for maximum productivity.

About the only large items not stored in the compact system are weapons, which along with narcotics, are kept in a separate locked vault. Compact storage carriages can be ordered with security locks, but since the items most prone to theft are kept under tightly controlled security, we at Burbank have not considered such additional protection on the carriages necessary.

The property room is accessible only through a secured front counter, which is sufficient for the materials stored in the area.

In the experience of the Burbank Police Department, compact storage for evidence and property is a win situation for everyone. The municipal government and local tax-payers benefit because saved space translates directly into saved money. The evidence and property compact storage system at Burbank cost about $25,000; and research by Spacesaver Corporation, the provider of our system and the largest compact storage manufacturer, indicates that compact storage costs an average of about one-third more per filing inch than quality lateral filing cabinets.

Moreover, the Spacesaver compact storage system saved an estimated 1,200 additional square feet we would have required in conventional shelving, which translates to about $50,000 in new construction costs. Bottom line: our net savings by using compact storage was about $25,000.

That saving multiplies when you add the man-hours of increased productivity afforded by the compact system. Before, officers had to walk up to 100 feet to reach case boxes that are now no more than a few steps away. The reduced height of the compact shelving is also a plus. When boxes were piled to the top of rooms up to fourteen feet high, a large stepladder had to be dragged into place to retrieve items from the upper levels. Now, everything is within arm's reach.

Compact Storage Considerations

Compact storage is an improvement that can be customized to meet the specific needs of any police department. Here are some general suggestions in considering and implementing such systems:

Work with the architect on the design:

When even a state the size of California builds only a few new police facilities each year, it's easy to see that not many architects have experience designing what we need.

The most valuable input for our Burbank facility carne from our own staff, plus site visits I made to 55 other Police Departments. From this user experience, we were able to even construct a drawing for the architect to refine and implement, which included the aforementioned savings in the property area alone.

Examine existing compact storage installations comparable to what you desire to determine how effective they actually are. Although the concept of compact storage has been around for more than 25 years, you still may not find many police department installations in your area. But such storage facilities don't necessarily have to be in law enforcement environments, if they are relevant to your needs.

In new construction, plan compact storage into building design and engineering:
Make sure that floors in a proposed compact storage area are engineered to handle the weight of the system, and that the area is clear of any obstacles to carriage movement.

In existing buildings, make sure that floor space can handle the greater concentrated weight of high-density storage. Floor loading requirements average 150-250 pounds per square foot. Additional rails can often be installed to help spread the system's line load. Your municipal building engineer and contractor should work out such considerations before you make a mobile storage decision.

Also, involve the compact storage contractor early in the design and construction phase of a new building to enable rails to be recessed into the floor, creating a flush walking surface. Some users even install additional rails during a floor-pouring phase in anticipation of future growth.

Select a system with maximum flexibility: Choose a system with shelving and other storage housings that can be easily reconfigured to meet changing needs. If you anticipate future growth, either design your compact storage system with space beyond your present needs, or allow room in the floor plan for additional carriages if you need them in the future.

Choose operating controls and other features based on your needs: Compact storage carriages are operated by a variety of means, including simple manual, mechanical assist and electric systems. Since the prices of operating systems increase with their sophistication, determine what you need-and what you don't need.

How heavy will your loaded carriages be?  Do you have above-average needs for material protection, safety, security or access by employees with disabilities? These and other considerations should dictate the operating system you choose.

Consider both prospective manufacturers and contractors carefully; both are equally critical to the ultimate success of your system. Compact storage systems are more sophisticated than stationary shelving, and carry higher requirements for design, manufacture and installation. A system that provides years of satisfactory operation requires not only a reputable manufacturer, but a contractor experienced in the special requirements of compact storage systems. The larger the installation, the more important it becomes that both parties have the resources to handle your needs. Again, be sure to talk to others who have used your manufacturer and contractor candidates.

Don't assume that anything is impossible. By "asking the question", many police departments have sparked design innovations, saved money by re-using existing materials, and in other ways obtained the most from their particular compact storage systems. The best manufacturers and contractors should provide a customized solution to your needs, not a "standard" product to which you must adapt.