HAMLET – Most every law enforcement agency, no matter how small or limited, has some semblance of an evidence “room” onsite.
While even some of the officers may be unaware of its existence, much less its location, a specific area in the station is normally designated for the storage, temporary or otherwise, of crime scene materiel.
The Hamlet Police Department is no exception. Though relatively small as law enforcement organizations go, HPD does what is necessary to collect, identify, inventory, store, protect, and subsequently retrieve any and all items that may be associated with any given crime, no matter how “minor” the alleged offense may be.
“We have to catalog and keep everything,” says Captain Randy Dover. “We can’t afford not to, given the potential liability that could be involved.”
That liability may even include jail time for an officer. “If there is any loss or tampering in any way with anything (e.g., drugs, cash, jewelry, etc.) in that room, the officer can be held personally, and criminally, accountable,” says HPD Chief Scott Waters.
The security concerns entailed by the handling of evidence are so significant that even the chief himself has no key to the evidence room at HPD headquarters. “There’s no reason for me to have one,” Waters stated. “Captain Dover and Lieutenant Jordan are our evidence control officers, so everything is processed through them, in or out.” He continued, “If for any reason neither of them is available, we have chain-of- custody procedures to keep a close watch on any access to what we have in that room.”
Although the evidence room itself is quite secure and closely monitored (a security camera is aimed directly at the door), special precautions are such that it sometimes takes hours to properly conduct an evidence inventory and storage procedure.
“Everything that goes in or out of that room, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, is documented and accounted for,” says Dover. Nothing gets in or out without myself or Lt. Jordan authorizing it.”
Once inside, though, the degree of organizational attention that is rendered becomes obvious. Clear storage bins are not only labeled but also bar-coded for ease of locating specific evidence for a particular case. In fact, when centrally located in the room, Captain Dover was able to point to, if not indeed reach out and touch, almost every item.
But this is a problematic issue as well. “Inventory is our biggest concern,” said Chief Waters. “We collect so much stuff, and usually for long periods of time, that we have an issue in making room for everything.” “It’s not like we can just take it all to the dump, you know!”
