INTRODUCTION - New Jersey

1 TABLE OF iPROPERTY RECORDS ..1 Centralized Filing Reports ..2 Records Retention ..4 PROPERTY STORAGE and Type of Property ..5 Security ..5 Temporary OFFICER .. OF PROPERTY ..7 Return to Owner or Finder ..7 Forfeiture ..8 Destruction of Property ..9 PROPERTY CONTROL POLICY AND AND PACKAGING PROPERTY AND A .. A-1 Model Property & Evidence PolicyiINTRODUCTIONThe property and evidence function is an integral and essential part of every lawenforcement agency. Every day, police officers come into custody of lost or stolen property,contraband, and any manner of evidence. The law enforcement agency is charged withestablishing a system for the secure and efficient classification, inventory, retrieval, anddisposition of these items. To accomplish this goal, the law enforcement agency mustspecifically:-Establish a system of documentation to track property from its receipt to itseventual a secure and orderly storage facility to meet the needs of the a property officer to be responsible for the department's property andevidence for periodic and special audits of the contents of the property storagefacility to insure continuing for the proper and timely disposition of property and policy, training and adequate supplies for the consistent marking andpackaging of property.

2 -Establish a written uniform policy and procedure to be followed by police officersin all aspects of property chapter will discuss each of the above and provide direction with relevantreferences. For clarity sake, the term "property" shall be used to refer to both evidence per se andall other property taken into police custody, unless otherwise RECORDSThe maintenance of an orderly, accurate and contemporary record system is essential tothe overall property function. The property record system should include a centralized filingsystem and a system of property reports and receipts to record the details of each propertytransaction. These records serve several purposes: -Inventory of items in custody; -Inventory of items that have been disposed of and released from custody ordestroyed; -Chronological record of the chain of custody of each item. In addition, the records of a property transaction may in fact become evidence themselvesto verify or dispute some fact about that item of maintenance of the property records should be assigned to the designated propertyofficer to insure that the type and manner of entries are consistent.

3 Centralized Filing System. Each law enforcement agency must have a centralized filingsystem which contains information on all property which is taken into police custody. Thissingle source filing system provides consistency and uniformity to the overall property recordssystem. Any inquiry about property should begin at the centralized filing system, wheresufficient references will identify the appropriate detailed are several important principals to be followed in maintaining a centralized filingsystem. These principals apply whether the centralized record in a bound log book or acomputerized data , the data must be permanent. It must be maintained for a considerable period, andthe individual records may have data added, but not deleted. This permanence is available inboth a log book and in an electronic data , the centralized filing system must be secure against damage, destruction or theft.

4 Here, the electronic system provides more simplicity through data backup with off-site storage. A log book would require either secure containment, such as a fireproof safe, or frequentphotocopying with off-site , the centralized filing system must be accessible for all authorized personnel. Access for entering data should be limited to the designated property officer. However, otherofficers must often track or locate property in the absence of the property officer, and thereforemust be able to review the centralized record. This is easier with a log book, since a2computerized system requires the officer to have a working knowledge of the centralized file should contain the following information for all property in identification number unique to the property. of each item of the property, including particular identifiers such asmake and model and unique identifiers such as serial number and owner of person(s) to whom property is related (defendant, owner, finder).

5 That each item came into police of officer who took custody of property (name, initials, badge oremployee number). where each item is that each item was entered into of officer who entered property into of each time that item was removed from storage or police of officer who removed item from storage or police custody each time itwas the item was removed ( trial or lab) for each time it was of final disposition of each of disposition (returned to owner, destroyed, turned over to anotheragency, etc.). of officer responsible for authorizing final of officer responsible for carrying out final disposition. Property Reports. In addition to the centralized filing system, the law enforcementagency must have reports to collect the detailed information for all property on a case specificbasis. Most agencies currently use some form of a property/vehicle report based on the LEIRS3system.

6 Each agency should carefully review its form to determine if improvements can reports should include, at a minimum, the following report property is received, confiscated, turned into headquarters, of the loss or theft of whether the property is stolen, lost, found, seized as evidence,recovered or held for , address, and phone number of the person who found the property or was inpossession of the property. 's name, address and phone number (if the owner of the property is differentfrom the person listed above). where property was recovered, found or number and full description of each item, , model, serial number and owner applied (estimate if necessary). (estimate if necessary). make, model, year, body type, color, registration number andstate, and vehicle identification number (VIN). of person completing the report. of custody record. The following entries should be made each timeproperty is transferred from one person to the property is being transferred from one person to another.

7 Printed name and signature of the person relinquishing custody of theproperty. printed name and signature of the person receiving the specific purpose of the change of custody, such as "Court," "Returnedto Owner," etc. In cases with many transfers of custody of an item, it may be necessary to attach a chainof custody continuation page to the property report. Each item listed above should be reflectedon this chain of custody continuation departments use multi-part forms which are separated soon after the preliminaryinformation is entered. It is essential that all later entries are consistently made on one part of theform. Photocopies can be made of the new, updated property report and distributed as necessary. The dated entry will allow the reader to identify the most recent Property Description Report (Short Form), Property Description Report (LongForm), Chain of Custody continuation page, and Victim Property Loss Report are found in themodel Property in Appendix A.

8 These forms were developed by the Division of CriminalJustice Police Bureau's Police Data Processing Project. The purpose of these forms is to combinethe thorough collection of information and efficient entry of information into an Retention. Records retention requirements promulgated by the New JerseyDepartment of State, Division of Archives and Records Management are found in the New JerseyRecords Manual (March, 1986). A second reference for records retention is the New JerseyProsecutor's Manual (October, 1988 Revision) published by the New Jersey County STORAGE FACILITYThe law enforcement agency must provide adequate space to organize and maintain aproperty vault which will facilitate the storage, auditing and retrieval of property and evidence. In addition, the storage facility must provide adequate security and control. The design of a property vault will be unique for every law enforcement agency.

9 Thethree primary considerations are the volume and type of property held, the overall security of theagency facility, and the total available space. 5 Volume and Type of Property. In designing a property vault, the total volume of propertyto be stored should be forecasted as far as possible into the future. In addition, the various typesof property to be stored should be reviewed. This includes, but is not limited to: weapons,ammunition, volatile or toxic substances, perishable items, valuable items, and cash. Consideration should also be given to the different types and quantities of controlled dangeroussubstances seized and held by the department. The agency may wish to establish differentpolicies for the storage of such diverse determining total storage area, it is important to remember that mere storage is notenough. The vault must have ample space to be organized to facilitate the location, retrieval andaudit of the property.

10 In other words, all property must be readily property vault should contain a refrigerator for the storage of perishables, such asblood. A safe or other separately secured container should be provided for the storage of cash,jewelry and other small, valuable Security is an extremely important consideration in the maintenance of aproperty vault. The vault must be situated, constructed, secured and protected in such a way as toprevent accidental or deliberate tampering, damage or loss of property. The property vault would ideally be located within a police headquarters which is staffedtwenty-four hours a day. In this case, the property vault should have its own alarm system. Inthe alternative, it should be located in an area of a police facility which is completely secure fromunauthorized access. In this case, the police facility and the property vault should have separatealarm vault should be constructed with materials which would frustrate attempts to breachthe perimeter walls, floor and ceiling.