Evidence shall be sealed, when appropriate, depending on the type of evidence, including
- All narcotics shall be sealed;
- All currency shall be sealed;
- All items determined to be valuable; and
- All evidence submitted to Scientific Services Bureau shall be sealed.
All currency and items determined to be valuable shall be stored in the safe, when practical.
Whenever practical, deputy, detective, criminalist or other specialist personnel sealing the package shall write his/her name or initials on the seal. The name or initials shall extend across the edge of the seal onto the package.
Sealed evidence shall NOT be opened to verify contents unless:
- There is evidence of tampering, the seal is broken, or the integrity of the bag/package/container has been violated. In these instances, the bag/package/container and its contents shall be secured within a new bag/package/container and the unit commander or appropriate representative notified. If a serialized evidence bag was originally used, the bag and its contents shall be secured within a new serialized bag and the unit commander notified. The serial number of the bag shall be updated in PRELIMS.
- The items is intended to be examined by Scientific Services Bureau, and a member of that Bureau is the one opening the sealed package.
NOTE: Evidence sealed by Scientific Services Bureau personnel upon conclusion of scientific examination shall not be unsealed unless necessary for court proceedings.
- The sealed package is opened by Department personnel in court proceedings;
- The Central Property custodian needs to verify accurate compliance with Penal Code section 11108 for serialized property.