Dialogue between Property Control Supervisor Joyce Davis, Olathe (KS) Police Department, and IAPE Executive Director Joe Latta: 

Davis: IAPE recommends "Additional security can be achieved by placing the currency vault in an area that requires a second person to gain entry." Who do you generally recommend for the second-key person? I am the property control Supervisor and wondered if it is preferable to have someone outside of property control, or whether it is acceptable for the supervisor to operate as the second-key person. 

Latta: There is absolutely no problem with you acting as the second person. The two-person rule is there to protect the property officer against any allegations of theft or mishandling. Also, you are only dealing with one property item at a time, not like an audit where you deal with many items, and for which an outside participant is recommended. 

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Dialogue between Janet Garrison, Lenexa (KS) Police Department, and IAPE Executive Director Joe Latta: 

Garrison: I attended one of your training seminars in Burbank, CA a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. I returned to my property room with new enthusiasm and was able to solve several problems we were facing. I am now faced with a new dilemma and would appreciate any help or advice you could give me. 

My Captain wants to eliminate the handling of cash in our property room by depositing all cash bookings into a bank account. I am aware that some departments nationwide do deposit their cash bookings, but most that I have spoken to deposit larger amounts, with a cut off at a particular amount. Our department wants to deposit all money bookings, except where the actual currency is of particular evidentiary value. I have several concerns about this. Does this cause undue delay in returning money to the proper owner? Does a delay of a few days for processing violate a court ordered return? 

Latta: I'm not aware of any procedural issues with the delay - agencies across the country have been booking money for years. If someone makes an issue with it, it should only provide job security for the City Attorney. Generally speaking people just want their property back, and if you average one every five to ten years I would be surprised. When it happens, it will probably be by someone who would have found something else to file a claim about ifit had not been the deposit. 

Garrison: If a large amount of money was deposited and held for several months or years before being ordered returned, are we responsible for also providing the interest that was earned on that cash to the owner? 

Latta: The interest issue generally is determined by a department or city policy. Few states require interest to be paid - however I would have your City Attorney find out if there is a state statute mandating it. If not, most departments don't pay interest. If the claimant makes an issue they need to file a claim with the City Clerk, and then it is referred to the City Attorney. Even if you had to pay the interest, it is unlikely that there would be penalties, and you will have accumulated the interest as revenue anyway. Let me know if we can help again. 

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Dialogue between Larry Grant, Knoxville (TN) Police Department, and IAPE Executive Director Joe Latta: 

Grant: Do you have any information about drug paraphernalia being prohibited in courtrooms by the judges? 

Latta: I haven't heard anything about paraphernalia in general, but two related issues are out there. Syringes are being rejected by some crime labs because of the danger in handling them. I would think that the judges would not want them either, but I haven't heard of an official directive. Paraphernalia so rarely goes to court anyway that in Washington State, they are now allowing grow farms (hydroponic equipment) to be photographed for court and destroyed immediately.

Also, seven counties in Southern California are no longer allowing drugs in courtrooms based on the determination that they are hazardous materials. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has published guidelines for dealing with drugs. 

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Dialogue between Shawn Martin, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, and IAPE Executive Director Joe Latta: 

Martin: I am looking for information and photos of property rooms that store the plastic evidence bags. We are currently looking to switch from paper envelopes to the plastic evidence bags and are looking for ideas on how to store the bags in our property room. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Photos of any current storage procedures would also be of great help.

Latta: I don't particularly like packages that are not rigid, because they are extremely difficult to file. Some times a very heavy mil bag will give you the support necessary. Let me give you another option. Suppose each item is submitted to you in a "heavy mil" plastic bag, which is available in various sizes. If three items are submitted on one case, then the three bags are stored together in a secondary manila envelope for easier handling and retrieval and filed by case number. The attached photos may help.

The photo above shows plastic bags being used for a variety of sizes and shapes of property. The bags are flimsy, and there can be no ordering of the items in the drawer. Because of the varying shapes, there can be no consistency in the placement of the tags or labels. In order to find a particular item, it would be necessary to look through the entire drawer's contents. 

The photo below shows a standard size, heavy mil plastic envelope. The consistent placement of the property tag allows filing in case or barcode order for ease in locating and replacing items of property.