Evidence shall be transported from the field to a station/unit, to a Detective Division unit, to Scientific Services Bureau, or to court only by deputy personnel, the investigating officer, detective, or a specialist called to the crime scene or by Scientific Services Bureau personnel. This accountability is necessary to maintain chain of custody of the items.
Any transfer of evidence from a station or unit to Scientific Services Bureau or other location shall be arranged by the deputy assigned to the investigation. Evidence shall only be transported by deputy personnel or by Scientific Services Bureau personnel. Other articles of evidence shall be held at the responsible unit of occurrence for follow-up investigation.
Evidence for scientific examination shall be held at the station for transport to Scientific Services Bureau. See section 5-04/030.10 Department Evidence Courier System.
Evidence may be transported directly to Scientific Services Bureau provided the investigating officer has contacted a laboratory supervisor.
Deputy personnel or the investigating officer shall be responsible for properly packaging, marking, and sealing all evidence to be sent to the laboratory and for completing and attaching a Scientific Services Bureau Laboratory Receipt (SH-CR-126) to each evidence item/evidence package requiring examination. Consult Scientific Services Bureau for requirements regarding proper packaging, marking, and sealing of evidence submitted to the laboratory for examination and for instructions on how to properly complete the Scientific Services Bureau Laboratory Receipt (SH-CR-126).
Evidence that is to be transported to Scientific Services Bureau shall be placed in a conspicuous location within the station/unit evidence locker. The Scientific Services Bureau courier will contact the watch sergeant to ensure that all evidence awaiting pick up is received.
All changes in the location of the evidence shall be recorded in PRELIMS. See section 5-04/080.00 Transfer of Property/Evidence.