Property and Evidence
The primary responsibility of a Property Evidence Specialist is to receive all incoming property, properly and securely store it so that it remains readily accessible, lawfully release or destroy it, and maintain documentation of the entire process. At the present time Turlock Police Department has two full-time Property Evidence specialists who are responsible for overseeing this process, and are assisted by one part-time clerk.
The following outline is a list of tasks and duties performed by our Property Evidence Specialist:
- Preserve all incoming property from contamination, theft, or loss
- Maintain and update property documentation with tracking information, commonly referred to as the "chain of custody"
- Ensure that all releases and dispositions of property are legal and properly documented
- Arrange and document interim releases and returns of property for court, crime lab analysis, or investigative use
- Operate computer terminals as needed
- Serve as liaison between the agency and other local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies
- Maintain current knowledge of Federal, State, and local law related to property management
- Inventory property based on the police demands of the agency
- Ensure that all efforts are taken to make the property room as safe as possible for employees as well as property