19.1 Submitting Property & Evidence

Exactly as extracted, unformatted — for checking against the original. The readable version is easier to read.

Centreville Police Department
Title: Submitting Property & Evidence Directive #: 19.1
Issued: 10.1.2016 Revised: 10.1.2016
Approved by: Charles M. Rhodes, Jr.
Chief of Police
A. Policy
Officers will submit property and evidence in accordance with this directive.
B. Procedures
1. General Provisions
a. An officer coming into possession of property or evidence will submit the item for storage and
processing at CPD before the end of the officer’s shift.
b. The officer will complete an Incident Report describing each item and the circumstances by which the
item came into his possession.
c. The Incident Report is in addition to any other required documentation (e.g., Property Record, Chain
of Custody).
d. The following is a list of exceptions to the above rule:
(1) Personal property of an arrested individual, other than evidence or contraband, will be returned to
the suspect after he is released from custody; if it is not possible to give the property back to the
suspect or another party (e.g., detention center employee, representative of the owner), the
property will be stored.
(2) If found property is returned directly to the owner or the owner’s authorized representative, no
documentation is necessary.
(3) Property or evidence should not be taken from another agency unless it is part of a CPD
investigation, the product of a search warrant or the result of a subpoena.
(4) Items deemed hazardous will be stored and disposed of by personnel having the appropriate
training and facilities to do so.
e. Property and evidence will not be stored at any place other than an approved storage area unless
prior permission is obtained from the Chief to temporarily store items elsewhere.
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2. Notification to Owners of Found Property
a. When abandoned property is received from someone other than the owner, officers will complete an
Incident Report, and if required, the Property Record, and note the:
(1) name, address and phone number of the person turning in the property; and
(2) circumstances surrounding the recovery.
b. Officers coming into possession of another person's personal property will attempt to notify the
owner of the found property within three days, and if the owner:
(1) can be determined, he will be notified that his property is being held and the procedures
by which it can be released; and
(2) is known but cannot be notified, the notification attempt will be recorded in the Incident Report,
and if required, the remarks section of the Property Record.
3. Labeling Property and Evidence
a. All property and evidence will be appropriately labeled.
b. A evidence envelope or pouch will be used to hold smaller items.
c. A Property Tag, will be attached to items which cannot fit in an envelope or pouch.
d. The envelope, pouch or tag will include:
(1) the Incident Report number;
(2) a Property Record number (if applicable); and
(3) any other pertinent information in the spaces provided.
4. Offensive Material
a. Property or evidence which may be considered outwardly offensive (e.g., sexually explicit) will:
(1) not be reproduced, disseminated or displayed except as required as part of the investigation and
prosecution; and
(2) be stored in a sealed, nontransparent envelope or other container that will prevent viewing by
persons not directly involved with the investigation.
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5. Temporary Storage
a. Whenever property or evidence comes into the possession of an officer and the custodial officer is not
available, the investigating officer will place the item into a secure, temporary locker until it is
remanded into the care of the custodial officer.
b. All property and evidence placed into temporary storage will be recorded in a Temporary Storage Log.
c. A supervisor will witness property and evidence being placed into temporary storage and will
complete the ‘supervisory review’ section of the Temporary Storage Log.
d. Custodial officers will transfer property and evidence from temporary storage within 72 hours, place it
in the appropriate storage location and will complete the “Property Release” portion of the Temporary
Storage log.
6. Submitting Evidence to the MSP Forensic Sciences Division (FSD)
a. Officers who collect evidence that may be submitted to MSP Forensic Sciences Division (FSD) will do so
in accordance with the Guidelines for Submitting Physical Evidence.
(1) The guide includes MSP’s policy on collecting Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and collecting
evidence from known sources.
(2) Officers will contact MSP FSD with questions or for assistance on the appropriate submission
of items for analysis.
b. Prior to collecting any DNA evidence, officers will be provided training.
c. All evidence, potential evidence or items to be sent to MSP FSD for analysis or examination will be
recorded on a MSP Form 67, Request for Laboratory Analysis/Chain of Custody.
(1) All entries on the Form 67, except signatures, will be typed or printed legibly.
(2) The most important item should be listed first; all subsequent items will be listed in descending
order of importance since all items may not be analyzed.
(3) In instances when indicating the suspect’s name may compromise the investigation, enter
“Confidential.”
(4) Any movement of the item after it is taken into the custody of MSP will be documented on the
chain of custody portion of the form.
(5) The original copy of the Form 67 will be attached to the evidence and always kept with the
evidence to maintain chain of custody.
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(6) The original and three copies of the Form 67 will be submitted to FSD with the evidence; if
applicable, the blue copy of the Form 63 will also be submitted.
(7) Upon acceptance of evidence by FSD, a receipt copy of Form 67 will be returned to the submitting
unit and filed with the Incident Report.
(8) After final disposition of the property or evidence, the original Form 67 will be filed with the
Incident Report.
d. The custodial officer will identify the evidence to be analyzed by FSD.
e. Only items requiring analysis or examination should be submitted to FSD; do not submit non- essential
items.
f. Requests for Rush Analysis
(1) All requests for rush analysis of evidence should be in writing from the State's Attorney to the FSD
Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Commander; however, the investigating officer’s
commander may also make the request.
(2) The request must contain:
(a) a copy of the Form 67;
(b) the FSD file number, if known;
(c the date the evidence was submitted to FSD;
(d) the suspect's name;
(e) the name of the submitting unit;
(f) the Incident Report number; and
(g) the Property Record number (if applicable).
g. The results of the analysis of all evidence will be provided by FSD, in writing, to the submitting unit for
inclusion with the investigative file.17
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