319.1 Property Evidence Submission

A: All property of a prisoner or evidence should be brought into custody by and officer and should be properly marked and brought to the correct storage room. This includes found, abandoned, taken away and evidence. Evidence should be properly marked. Property and evidence should be put in the property room, auto pound or crime lab. However, the chief of police can decide another place to put the evidence or property, anything can be put in this alternate property room except money.

B: Officers should make sure that any property coming in as evidence should follow some basic guidelines. This includes, weapons (must have all ammo removed), controlled substances, bullets, photographs, video tape, etc., or anything that may help with the investigation.

C: Anyone who has owned property that is being used as evidence may later need to identify it in court. When submitting evidence, officers should mark all evidence by their initials. Drugs in the form of tablets or capsules shouldn’t be marked, but if it’s something like a marijuana cigarette, a pack of powdered drugs or any other kind of container, it should be marked. An officer should then put the evidence in an envelope or sack, and seal it. Syringes should be put in a plastic tube, and marked as syringe or biohazard. Important details like the date, names and a short description should be marked on the container.

D: Property tags should also be added to any items submitted, except for confiscated property, so that ownership is identified. A property tag is there to identify stolen property, evidence, confiscated property, guns, and prisoner property.

E: All combustible evidence less than a quart that is relevant to the investigation should be brought to the property room and soon be chemically analyzed. Small samples of flammable liquid like gasoline should be collected and have a crime lab request put on it if needed. The property should be sealed correctly to avoid spilling, cross contaminating, or evaporation. The necessary metal containers to hold these are in the property room. Any container with combustible material should be labeled as flammable. Any amount of gas should be brought to the auto pound. Gas powered equipment like lawn mowers or generators and gas cans/oil cans should be brought to the auto pound as well.