Any narcotic evidence found in a custody facility shall be booked into the appropriate Sheriff's station. All personnel shall adhere to the following procedures.
Deputy personnel who recover narcotics evidence shall place the evidence in a transparent plastic narcotic evidence bag. Prior to sealing a narcotics evidence bag, deputy personnel shall complete the first four (4) lines of a Narcotic Evidence Booking Identification Card (Uniform Report Number, Description of Evidence, Reporting Deputy Name/Employee Number, and Seizing Deputy Signature/ Employee Number) and place it inside the bag along with the narcotics. Once this has been completed, the evidence bag should be sealed. This card replaces the old method of tearing off a piece of paper and putting your initials on it.
Deputy personnel shall complete a Criminalistics Laboratory Receipt (SH-CR-126) and staple it to the narcotic evidence bag.
NOTE: It is imperative to press hard when completing the receipt so that all copies are legible.
Each narcotic evidence bag requires a separate Criminalistics Laboratory Receipt. Criminalistics Laboratory Receipts are a serialized form and shall be kept in the watch sergeant's office for tracking purposes. This form is stapled to the outside of the narcotic evidence bag and placed into the safe. When entering narcotic evidence information into the master property ledger, deputy personnel shall include the serial number of the Criminalistics Laboratory Receipt. This information shall be placed under the "Description of Evidence" portion of the ledger.
When it becomes necessary to physically transport narcotic evidence to court for a preliminary hearing or trial, the deputy responsible for presenting the evidence shall make arrangements with the station narcotics unit to obtain a photograph of the evidence and the analysis report. The station narcotics unit shall prepare a Narcotics Bureau Court and Evidence Disposition form (SH-CR-559) in duplicate and obtain the signature of the transporting deputy on the form. The original copy shall accompany the photograph of the narcotic evidence to court. If the narcotic evidence photograph is not introduced in court, it shall be returned to the station narcotic unit with the Narcotics Bureau Court and Evidence Disposition form, with the court disposition section of the form completed. If the evidence photograph is introduced in court, the transporting deputy shall complete the court disposition section of the form and obtain the court seal and signature of the court clerk prior to returning the form to the station narcotics unit.
The new procedure as outlined in this directive requires that all narcotic evidence booked at a station be transported as soon as possible to Scientific Services Bureau for a chemical and physical analysis of the materials. This procedure will eliminate the need for a field (Wells) test of narcotics which was performed by station narcotics personnel. Narcotic evidence is then transported to the Central Property and Evidence Unit at the Sheriff's Training and Regional Services Center (S.T.A.R.S.). The Central Property and Evidence Unit is responsible for security, storage, maintenance, and disposal of all narcotics evidence.