NEW ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT - New Albany, Ohio

13.1.1 Property Control System
NEW ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Directive 13.1 - Property Room
A. All recovered property submitted to the Property Room for evidence, safe keeping, and/or
destruction shall be turned in by a Police Department employee and receipted on a
Property Record form (PD-99-163) (see Addendum A) to the Property Custodian without
unnecessary delay. All copies of the Property Record (original, yellow, and hard copies)
shall remain together and be submitted with the property/evidence. The Police
Department employee shall place the property/evidence in an appropriate size empty
locker and secure the locker by pushing the door shut. Property/evidence too large for
these lockers may be temporarily stored in the Evidence Bay or cruiser shelter (as
appropriate).
Once the property/evidence is submitted, the Property Custodian(s) is responsible for the
property/evidence being transferred to the Property Room. Access to the Property Room
is restricted to the Police Department’s Property Custodian(s).
B. Unless an owner of found property can be identified and will pick up his/her property by
the end of the shift, an officer shall receipt all property/evidence under his/her control on
a Property Record and impound the item(s). In addition, the officer will complete an Ohio
Uniform Incident Report to document recovered property. Police Department employees
are not permitted to store items of property/evidence in their personal lockers, desks,
vehicle, homes, or other places that are not secure and could interrupt the chain of
custody. The personal use of property/evidence by agency personnel is strictly
prohibited.
C. Each item of property/evidence will be listed on the Property Record. While more than
one item may be placed on a Property Record, items should be described in sufficient
detail to ensure positive identification by the Property Custodian. This should include
model and serial numbers where appropriate. If any item(s) is/are to be held for prints or
special handling, then that information must be indicated on the inventory sheet. (Items to
be sent to a lab for testing need to be packaged separately from items held for
safekeeping and/or not being sent to a lab).
D. No explosives (other than fireworks, flares, or small caliber ammunition not exceeding
.50 cal), dangerous chemicals, unknown biological specimens, nuclear material, or other
dangerous material or property (as determined by the on duty shift supervisor) will be
accepted by the Police Department. All such items will be photographed and released to
the appropriate specialized agency for disposal.
E. It is the responsibility of the submitting officer to properly receipt, mark, package, and
photograph (as applicable) all property and/or evidence submitted to the Property
Room. If property or evidence is not properly receipted or packaged, the Property
Custodian will require the submitting officer to correct the problem. Refusal of the
submitting officer to comply with the Property Custodian’s instructions shall require
notification of the shift supervisor to rectify the problem.
F. In general, property and evidence shall be placed in an appropriate sized plastic or paper
bag with the copy of the Property Record attached. Property shall be clearly marked as
“evidence” or “non-evidence” on the Property Record by the submitting officer. Nonevidentiary
items are indicated by checking the “Found Property” or “Safe Keeping”
boxes on the Property Card.
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