IAPE members attending classes put up a pretty good effort. CSO Julie Daum, Glendale (CA) Police Department, has a smoking pipe made out of a potato, and Evidence Technician Arline Scott, Lacy (W A) Police Department, is the proud (but temporary) owner of a live puppy in her Property Room. Neither could match the following evidence room situations.

But It Was Only a Little Pipe Bomb Milton J. Valencia reported in the Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette on March 02,2004, that a small explosive device similar to a pipe bomb was kept in the police station overnight, until higher-ups realized it needed to be detonated and called in the Massachusetts State Police bomb unit. A passer-by found the device and brought it to police headquarters at about 4: 10 p.m. Sunday, and the responding officer made a report. 

The Police Chief said the device - a 6inch-long copper tube with a wick protruding from it-was considered harmless at first. The officer thought nothing of the device, considering it' 'harmless," the chief said. The bomb was left in the police evidence room until the officer responsible for checking that room noticed it and questioned if it should have been left there. The chief said the state police bomb unit was called in for safety reasons. The bomb unit would not move the device and detonated it in police headquarters under sandbags.

The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) on February 24, 2004, published an article headlined POLICE BREAKING UP AREA PURSE PARTIES by Ted Hart, of WBNS-10TV. 

Move over, Tupperware, Pampered Chef and Mary Kay. These days, in central Ohio and elsewhere, the hottest trend in home based retailing might be the purse party. The idea is simple: A dealer finds someone to host a party for a dozen or so people, usually friends, neighbors and co-workers. The partygoers sip wine and munch hors d' oeuvres while the dealer shows off the purses. If the partygoers see anything they like, they pay on the spot with cash or personal checks - and take home the merchandise. The only problem: Authorities say most, if not all, of the handbags sold at purse parties are knockoffs. The counterfeit versions resemble handbags by designers such as Gucci, Prada, Kate Spade and Louis Vuitton. 

Buying knock off handbags isn't a crime, but selling them is, and that gives designers the right to crack down on counterfeiters. And that's what they 're doing-with increasing frequency and aggressiveness. Two weeks ago, acting on information gathered by PICA investigators, Dublin police raided a home in the upscale Muirfield neighborhood. They removed hundreds of handbags, which now fill an evidence locker at Dublin's police headquarters.

Tony Maxwell had an hilarious article in the March 17, 2004 issue of The Asheville Citizen Times headlined "Driver's pork take-out maims Urban Trail." 

This little piggy never made it to market, but she is in the pokey. The beloved bronze sow has temporarily taken up residence in the Asheville police evidence room after a 28 year old man crashed through the concrete wall seat at Vance Monument, shearing the pig off its bolts. No one was seriously injured. "It's the worst case of swine flew I've ever seen," said Asheville police Capt. Tom Aardema." I told risk management it's going to be hard to fix because it's made out of pig iron."