Evidence/Property Management
- edgarsolutionsllc
- Aug 10
- 2 min read
In today's blog post, Cam Coppess with Edgar Public Safety and Healthcare Solutions, provides insight on the importance of maintaining evidence/property within your law enforcement agency. Cam is a retired police executive and spent another 7 years as Vice President of Security for the Iowa Lottery. He holds a Master of Public Administration Degree and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Evidence/Property Management is a key process for law enforcement
agencies. It is important as it protects the integrity of the evidence, the
officer(s) tasked with handling the evidence/property, the investigative case,
the agency and the municipality or county of jurisdiction.
Failure to properly collect, package, store, track and legally dispose of the
evidence/property can create an erosion of public trust and credibility, compromise cases, create operational inefficiencies and delays, and potential legal liability and penalties. To prevent these unwanted consequences, it is critically important to have checks and balances in the evidence/property management system.
Police Chiefs, Sheriff’s and City Administrators should ask themselves these important questions.
Does our evidence/property system have an expiration date for each item
so that you can assess if there is a need to continue to hold the item in your
possession?
How do you legally dispose of items no longer needed that may be taking up space for relevant items?
When was the last time your evidence property room was audited?
Was it an independent audit?
Do you know, or can show what items you are responsible for?
How do you document accountability with movement in leadership roles for those responsible for the integrity and security of these areas?
Edgar Public Safety and Healthcare Solutions can help you audit your evidence/property system to answer these questions. We are experienced in physical inventory auditing and developing policies and processes, including the use of computer inventory systems. Let's discuss your specific needs and come up with a plan to get it accomplished. Edgarsolutions.org CCoppess@edgarsolutions.org