5-04/180.90 - Destruction of Narcotics Evidence



Narcotic contraband, paraphernalia, and devices shall be transferred to Central Property for disposition.  Narcotics Bureau, in collaboration with the Central Property custodian, shall be responsible for final disposition of all narcotic contraband, paraphernalia, and devices.

Investigating officer and lieutenant or designee approval, when appropriate, shall be recorded in PRELIMS by updating the item’s STATUS to READY TO DISPOSE before the items can be destroyed. 

In collaboration with Narcotics Bureau, the Central Property custodian shall prepare a manifest or list of items by URN and item number, type, and quantity of drug to be destroyed at one time.  A court order is obtained authorizing the destruction of all items included on this manifest.  The Central Property custodian, accompanied by Narcotics Bureau personnel, shall transport the narcotics to a third-party vendor for destruction.  A copy of the court order is scanned into PRELIMS.

The Central Property custodian or Narcotics Bureau may institute specific audit processes prior to destruction of the narcotic contraband to verify items being destroyed. 

Upon destruction, the Central Property custodian shall transfer the items to a final disposition location of “Disposed from LASD” in PRELIMS at which time the item’s STATUS is updated in to DISPOSED.