By Onofre Jusino, BA, MS, NMD, Ph.D.
THE EVIDENCE ROOM in any Police Department is where all the evidence that is found at a crime scene and taken by the police through any criminal investigation with probable cause or a judge’s order, is stored and secured.
ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL AND STATE laws and procedures, law enforcement officers have to keep the CHAIN of EVIDENCE for all evidence taken in a criminal investigation. That chain of evidence must be kept secure until it is presented to a grand jury, forensic laboratories, or courts, so it is NOT contaminated or lost.
SOME TYPES OF EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN COURT ARE 1-Direct Evidence, 2-Circumstantial, 3-Digital, 4-Expert testimony, 5-DNA Profiling 7- Demonstrative, 8- Photograph, 9-Weapons, 10-Drugs, 11-Witness Testimonial,12-Fingerprints, 13- Videos, 14- Blood, etc.
THE EVIDENCE THAT IS KEPT IN THE EVIDENCE ROOM are those that may be connected directly or indirectly to any crime, and it could be solid, liquid, or gas. That evidence has to be very secure, and a record of TIME, DATE, OFFICER’S NAME, CASE NUMBER, and DESCRIPTION of the evidence that have been summited to the room has to be kept by the evidence custodian and the officer that is summiting the evidence.
THE EVIDENCE ROOM MUST have an adequate room temperature to preserve the evidence, as well as locks, recording cameras, gloves to handle the evidence, and signs of the entrance of AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR OPINION.
