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By Melissa Mann for Police1 BrandFocus Staff
Constructing policy for law enforcement agencies on how to manage property and evidence data isn’t as simple as it once was. With the evolution of digital technology and explosion of body-worn cameras used by officers on daily patrol, the necessity for secure storage of digital evidence has created a whole new realm of considerations that you must be mindful of when constructing and updating your evidence retention policies. Certainly, a big hurdle of digital evidence management is maintaining evidence security while mitigating associated storage costs for your agency. Construction of a detailed digital evidence handling and retention policy is a step in the right direction to saving money.
Know your laws
When constructing a digital evidence procedure policy, consideration of state and local law is vital. Each state, city, and county has specific statutes or laws which must be adhered to when setting evidence retention guidelines. For example, state and local laws will determine how long to keep video, audio, and photographic evidence. Storage times may be dependent on each criminal case type and where the case is in the legal process. Some law enforcement software programs can actually set evidence destruction times automatically, which would save personnel hours and money.
Education
Law enforcement agencies in alliance with their District Attorney’s office should clearly educate all property technicians on evidence retention laws to take the guesswork out of how to manage evidence storage. A complete training and understanding of agency policy is a must. Digital evidence booking and retention policies should be uniformly taught to all personnel across all shifts in order to confirm working knowledge of destruction timeframes and appropriate storage server locations. Untimely destruction of digital evidence or improper storage location of evidence files on agency servers could seriously damage a case prosecution and create discord among all involved entities. Premature destruction of digital evidence could result in expensive forensic recovery and potential modification of files which would render them inadmissible.
Security and Sharing
The advantages of officers wearing body cameras have saved dollars in unnecessary litigation; however, costs increased when it was time to book all of those videos into evidence. Storage of digital video data from patrol is only a fraction of what qualifies as digital evidence. Contemporary recording mechanisms mounted in patrol cars can be downloaded via a USB cable, wireless connection, or through a docking station with very little security risk.
The security of network stored evidence is another factor to consider and detail in agency policy. For Marin County Sheriff’s Office in San Rafael Calif., the use of marginally secure, department-issued thumb drives and discs will shortly be a procedure of the past. Sergeant Fred Marziano, is currently overseeing several major technological upgrades for the office including their digital evidence handling. Marziano stated that soon, all digital evidence will be housed electronically via network for Marin County. “The joy of networked storage is that we are able to provide the DA and defense with specific, individualized permissions to view the evidence while remaining completely secure.” Each access permission is clearly outlined in their operating procedures. Within Marin County’s network, security access limits for each entity are spelled out in policy as set by county policy makers and administration.
For evidence security within the chain of custody, law enforcement specific software can be designed with tracking features. Tracking can record who opened the evidence file, and at which date and time the file was accessed.
Permissions and Privacy
As part of an agency digital evidence policy, procedures regarding evidence access permissions need to include considerations for how to handle press releases, public access, and officer privacy. Here again, each state, county, or city will have statutes or laws, which each department needs to include when constructing policy.
For example, the CA Public Records Act is very specific in what information can be released in the event of crimes involving juveniles. The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) precludes law enforcement agencies from releasing medical conditions of missing persons, even if they are considered “at risk”.
Maintaining officer privacy when releasing case information is also an important factor in policy construction. Releasing officer names or details during an investigation can put an officer and their family at risk. Policy must specify what data can be released at what time, without compromising ongoing investigations and maintaining officer safety.
The cost of storage
An often overlooked consideration in developing a policy is the cost of retaining evidence. Long retention times inevitably mean higher costs. If long retention times are going to be a part of your policy, consider looking into a tiered storage solution that can help mitigate costs by using several types of storage to store data.
Drafting a digital evidence retention policy requires careful planning and execution. Effective storage of evidentiary data through a tiered storage solution can maximize the agency dollar while managing privacy considerations and access permissions. Working knowledge and observation of jurisdictional laws can be accommodated within a specific software design and make for cohesive storage, security, and management of digital evidence with a cost effective price tag.
About the author
Melissa Mann recently retired from the field of law enforcement. Her experience spanned 18 years which included assignments in Corrections, Community Policing, Dispatch Communications, and Search and Rescue. Melissa holds a BS in Criminal Justice and MA in Psychology with emphasis in studies on the psychological process of law enforcement officers. She holds a deep passion for researching and writing about the lifestyle of police and corrections work and the far reaching psychological effects on the officer and their world.