Alarms, Security, Access by Joe Latta, author of Property & Evidence By the Book STANDARD A written directive should require that only authorized personnel have access to the areas used by the agency for storage of property and evidence. Entry to property areas should be controlled to prevent the alteration, unauthorized removal, theft, or other compromise of property stored by the agency to maintain a chain of custody. No one other than property room personnel should have keys to the property storage areas. During non-business hours the department needs to establish a written protocol for entry into the Property Room. It is always suggested that the Property Officer be called-in for the entry. If this is not practical a two-person rule is necessary. All extra keys should be sealed in an envelope that is kept in a safe location designated by the agency head. A log should be maintained to indicate the date, time, necessitating circumstances, employee, and supervising person using the key whenever the seal on the envelope is broken. Whenever these keys are used, a written record must be prepared to justify the use of the duplicate key. Policy Issues:
Key-holding personnel should be limited to only those persons who regularly work in the room, and the Division Commander who is in the direct chain of command should keep a spare key. The Division Commander should be responsible for supervising when locks are changed. Under no circumstances should a key to the main property room be kept in the Watch Commander's office where multiple persons have access to it without controls. Temporary Lockers - Security Temporary interior lockers should be equipped with slam-lock hardware that does not require a key to lock. Any time a padlock is used on storage lockers they need to be affixed to the locker to avoid removal and duplication. Oversize lockers should have a vestibule that is unlocked when empty and slam-locked when evidence is put inside. A sufficient number of oversize lockers should be available to prevent commingling evidence from more than one case. Gun. Narcotic. and Currency Storage Areas - Security / Alarms Guns, money, and narcotics are the primary targets of thefts that have occurred in law enforcement property rooms. All efforts need to be taken to secure these areas and track all entries. Consideration should be given to electronic access systems along with a secondary keypad for all entries. Installation of a video camera on the door or interior is an excellent control. The controls may be relaxed somewhat if only the Property Officer has access to these areas. Multiple entries require tighter internal controls. Hinges need to be on the interior of the room or use commercially designed security hinges. Intrusion Alarms All property rooms should be fitted with an intrusion alarm that detects when the entry doors are opened without authorization. Additional motion detectors should protect the enhanced security area for the firearms, narcotics, and currency. Employees at a 24/7 workstation should monitor these alarms. Alarms should be tested monthly and records kept. Additional alarms of a similar nature should be fitted to secondary and oversize Property Rooms. Duress Alarms Any property release area that is removed from immediate back up should be equipped with a duress alarm. Remote property rooms with firearms, narcotics, or currency should also be equipped with a duress alarm. This alarm should be monitored in a 24/7 facility and tested once a month. A test log should be maintained. Monitoring the alarm at a third-party alarm company adds an additional level of internal control. Video Surveillance Consider placing video surveillance at the all points of entry. The system can all be activated by motion detectors and provide a good long-term record of all entries. Management needs to establish a written policy on how long the tapes are to be stored any time a video system is used. Newer technology also allows images to be stored digitally on a computer hard drive. IAPE - Standards #8, Security and Alarms (October 16, 2002) History and Commentary - Security Even a cursory news search will generate scores of articles illustrating the types of threats facing the storage of evidence across the United States. It is imperative that law enforcement managers closely evaluate security needs on a regular basis. The primary goal of a sound Property System is to maintain the integrity of evidence for court. All efforts need to be in place to insure that the fewest number of employees have access to the area. Over the years law enforcement managers and administrators have had the belief that if they are in charge they need access. The idea is understandable, however anyone having a key must be included in the investigation if something is missing. It is not equitable to conduct the investigation into a theft and not consider all parties that have or have had access to the area. The importance of constructing a secure facility to house evidence for long periods of time was previously mentioned in Standards: The Evidence Log Vol.2003, No.2 & Vol.2003, No.3. Our Property Rooms are exposed to several different threats to the inventory. The threats can best be described as internal and external threats. Internal Theft - is best described as a component within the organization that may want to steal, remove, pilfer, or tamper with evidence. Generally this is a person or personnel that have legal access to the building, but not necessarily the Property Room. External Theft - is best described as a stranger to the facility who is interested in stealing, vandalizing, destroying or tampering with evidence. Security Concepts The following elements outline those areas that need to be assessed when reviewing security policies, procedures and standards. Security Policy Issues / Concepts A written security policy needs to be developed that documents who has authority to have access to the Property Room. The policy needs to address both routine business hours and after hour's entry. The ideal policy is to allow access only to the "Property Custodian(s)", however certain emergencies can arise that require other authorized entries. The following table provides items that need to be considered when writing a policy statement: Security Policy Manual Elements Access -Business Hours
Temporary Lockers - Security Temporary lockers need to be available to submit evidence to the Property Room to insure the "Chain of Custody" has not been interrupted. Locker systems need to be designed in a manner that insures that evidence is secure from the time the evidence is submitted and not co-mingled with other evidence.
Gun. Narcotic. and Currency Storage Areas - Security / Alarms Administrative and physical security procedures are mandatory to ensure that all property taken into custody and stored by the agency in any manner is properly controlled and protected while in agency custody. 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. Locks / Keys Facilities have long been challenged by the security problems resulting from unauthorized key duplication. Key control is important for the integrity of your building's security. One solution that should always be considered is interchangeable cores. This allows the lock (core) to easily be changed out as opposed to changing the entire lock. The keyways and key blanks are generally protected by a company's patent. Restricted blanks, cut keys and cores are furnished only through authorized
distributors, with a letter of authorization from the end-user. Restricted
cores and keys are drop shipped directly to the end-user or designated
location, preventing locksmiths and distributors from having access to
keys and cores without the end-user's permission. Interchangeable cores
al10w instantaneous re-keying by non-locksmith personnel when a key is
lost or stolen. [Continued
next issue Copyright © 2006 International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc. Reprinted from the Evidence Log, Volume 2003, Number 4, Page 36 |
Locker
systems with keys should always be avoided to insure keys aren't lost,
duplicated or stolen. When keys for the temporary lockers can be easily
duplicated the system needs to be modified.
