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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0024A - DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY EVIDENCE final 6-26-08Red Wing Police Department Policy SUBJECT: POLICY NUMBER W DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE 24A Oxr, EFFECTIVE DATE July 1, 2008 REFERENCE(S): APPROVED BY: Minnesota CHIEF ROGER D. POHLMAN 1. GENERAL: The preservation, storage, retention and disposal of evidence are crucial to the criminal justice system. Every effort must be maintained to insure that property critical to the prosecution of cases is protected until no longer needed. It is also realized that victims of crimes have a right to possess their property and that it should be returned as expeditiously as possible when no longer required. Those personnel investigating, prosecuting and storing property share the responsibility for return of property to its lawful owners. 2. PURPOSE: To establish definitive guidance for the disposal of property and evidence entrusted to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office and the Red Wing Police Department. 3. APPLICABILITY: The provisions of this policy are applicable to all personnel assigned to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office, the Goodhue County Attorney's Office and the City of Red Wing Police Department who have responsibilities associated with property or evidence pertinent to the criminal justice system. This policy does not address court exhibits received in evidence at trial. Once evidence is entered into trial as an exhibit, the responsibility for disposition rests with the Goodhue County Attorney's Office. Court Exhibits may be returned to law enforcement for storage during appeal periods or, in major cases for the length of the defendant's sentence. 4. DEFINITIONS: Contraband: Property that is illegal to possess, is non -returnable and need not be retained for evidentiary purposes. Evidence: Any species of proof, or probative matter that may legally be presented at trial, by the medium of witnesses, records, documents, exhibits, etc. for the purpose of inducing belief in the minds of the court or jury as to their contention. Page 1 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A Evidence Technician: The person assigned primary responsibility for processing, maintaining and storing property entrusted to the care of the Red Wing Police Department and Goodhue County Sheriff's Office. Forfeited Propert . This is property that is ordered forfeited by a judge. Found Property: Property where the owner is unknown Minimal Value Firearms: Those firearms as described under Minnesota Statutes as "Saturday Night Specials" as well as those firearms that are obviously damaged, rusted and having missing parts. Damage will be documented by photos and a short summary. Prosecutor's Authorization for Disposal of Property and Inventory. A document generated by a Goodhue County Prosecutor upon conclusion of a case that specifies the disposition to be made with property associated with a specific case. Safekeeping: Property where the owner is known and safeguarded for a period of not less then 90 days. Serious Felonies: The following crimes are defined as "Serious Felonies" by the Goodhue County Attorney's Office: A. Murder in the First, Second and Third Degree B. Manslaughter in the First and Second Degree C. Criminal Vehicular Homicide D. Suicide — Aiding and Aiding/Attempted E. Murder of an Unborn Child in the First, Second and Third Degree F. Manslaughter of an Unborn Child in the First and Second Degree G. Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Degree Statute of Limitations (SOL): The minimum retention period for felony crimes that are open with no suspects or no arrests/pending prosecution. Homicide/Manslaughter/Criminal Vehicular Operation PERMANENT Kidnapping PERMANENT Labor Trafficking (Juveniles) PERMANENT Criminal Sexual Conduct/Juvenile Sexual Abuse/Incest 9 Years Bribery/Medical Fraud 6 Years Labor Trafficking (Over 18) 6 Years Check Forgery (Over $35,000) 5 Years Arson 5 Years Environmental Crimes 5 Years All Other Offenses 3 Years 5. PROCEDURES: The following guidelines are established: A. Uncharged Cases: When the statute of limitations (SOL) expires on cases and the suspect is unknown and no charges have been filed, the property will be disposed of in accordance with departmental procedures. For cases with a SOL Page 2 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A that exceeds 3 years (Serious Crimes) the appropriate Goodhue County Assistant Attorney will be contacted to receive authorization for disposal of the property. B. Charged Cases: The below minimum retention periods will be adhered to when a subject has been arrested and a final court judgment has been reached. It is the responsibility of the Goodhue County Assistant Attorney adjudicating the case to notify the evidence technician of the disposition by completing a Prosecutor's Authorization for Disposal of Property and Inventory form. (1) Petty Misdemeanor: 20 days following disposition. (2) Misdemeanor: 20 days following disposition (3) Gross Misdemeanor: 120 days following disposition (4) Felony Offenses: 120 days following disposition and review with prosecutor prior to disposal. (5) Serious Felonies Retained for length of sentence C. Homicides (Uncharged): (1) When DNA evidence of the suspect exists, the evidence technician will submit it to the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension (BCA) for analysis. (2) When the identity of the suspect is unknown or there is insufficient evidence to prosecute the case, the evidence will be retained permanently. (3) For a suspicious death or death of undetermined manner: Evidence will not be disposed of without approval of the Goodhue County Attorney's Office. (4) For a missing person case suspected to be a homicide, evidence will not be disposed of without approval of the Goodhue County Attorney's Office. (5) When the identity of the suspect is known, but the suspect is deceased (including murder -suicide cases): The evidence will be retained and disposed of at the department's discretion. D. Criminal Sexual Conduct (1st to 4t' Degree) and Kidnapping Cases (Uncharged): (1) When DNA evidence of an unknown suspect is available the evidence technician will submit it to the BCA for analysis. (2) If the case may be chargeable when the DNA is identified the biological evidence will be retained permanently. (3) Sexual assault examination kits will not be destroyed unless authorized by the appropriate county attorney or investigator handling the case. E. Homicides (Charged) - Page 3 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A (1) When the perpetrator has been convicted, the evidence will be retained permanently. (2) When an arrest warrant has been issued the evidence will be retained until the suspect has been apprehended and the case has been completed in court. (3) When a defendant is acquitted and no other suspect or related court action is expected the evidence will be retained permanently. F. Charge Declinations: (1) When the Goodhue County Attorney's Office declines to charge a case it will be considered closed and the evidence will be disposed of in accordance with established departmental procedures. (2) It is the responsibility of the Goodhue County Assistant Attorney declining to prosecute a case to notify the evidence technician when property is involved so disposition can be made. This notification can by email or letter and will be attached to the property sheet that disposition is annotated on. G. Firearms Property: (1) Firearms will not be returned to owners without a court order or permission from the Goodhue County Attorney's Office. This permission will be by email or written order and will be attached to the property sheet upon which disposition is made. (2) A criminal history check will be conducted on all individuals designated to receive firearms prior to release. Firearms will not be released to any individual who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under Minnesota Statute 624.713. All instances meeting this criterion will be referred to the Goodhue County Attorney's Office for resolution. (3) Firearms taken for safekeeping from a suicidal individual will not be returned to that individual without express permission of a Goodhue County Attorney. The owner may make arrangements for another entity to receive the firearms. This permission will be in written form and attached to the property sheet upon which disposition is made. (4) Cases involving firearms that have been retained in the property room for a period in excess of 10 years will be referred to the Goodhue County Attorney's Office for disposition instructions (5) Forfeited firearms will be disposed of in the following manner: (a) Illegal firearms as defined under Minnesota statutes such as fully automatic weapons and sawed off shotguns as well as firearms of minimal value will be disposed of by destruction. Destruction will Page 4 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A be made by disassembly or being cut up and rendered inoperative at the discretion of the evidence technician. (b) High value firearms will be disposed of by sale to an authorized licensed firearms dealer and the proceeds deposited with the appropriate county/city finance department or credit to be used towards law enforcement related equipment. (c) Firearms deemed to have tactical or training value to law enforcement may be designated for agency use and released to the appropriate department. (6) BB guns, paint guns and pellet guns from juvenile cases will be returned to the submittal officer after court adjudication. The submittal officer will contact the parents of the juveniles for disposal instructions and will inform the evidence technician of the decision. H. Recovered Stolen Property With the permission of the Goodhue County Attorney's Office recovered stolen property may be returned to its lawful owner prior to a trial provided it is photographed and the owner signs a statement that the property will be retained until the case is adjudicated. I. Narcotics Evidence: (1) When a court disposition has not been received and the 3 year SOL expires, the appropriate Goodhue County Assistant Attorney will be contacted and requested to render a disposition decision. This decision will be in writing and attached to the property sheet upon which disposition is made. (2) Illegal drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana will be destroyed by incineration at the City of Red Wing incineration plant. Two officers will complete the destruction and sign off attesting that the destruction was made. (3) Narcotics and marijuana may be issued to canine drug detection handlers for training purposes. Normally the weight will not exceed 5 grams per narcotic and will be signed out by the officer. It is the officer's responsibility to safeguard these training aids and to return them to the evidence technician for destruction once they have served their purpose. J. Multimedia Tapes/Digital CDs: (1) Tapes attributed to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office are colored black and the Red Wing Police Department's are colored white. (2) Tapes or digital CDs will not be recycled. When their use purpose is complete they will be destroyed by incineration at the City of Red Wing incinerator. Page 5 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A (3) Tapes or digital CDs filled with routine traffic violations that result in only the issuance of a citation are considered generic. These are not submitted as formal evidence will be retained for one year and then destroyed. (4) VHS tapes or digital CDs submitted by Red Wing Officers under an ICR as evidence will be retained until a trial disposition is received. If one year has not elapsed, they will be archived until the time criterion is met and then destroyed. Refer to Goodhue County Policy 25 for disposition schedules for VHS tapes or digital CDs submitted by members of the Goodhue County Sheriff's Department. K. Alcohol Evidence: (1) For minor consumption and other alcohol related crimes it is not necessary to retain all alcohol confiscated. A representative bottle or can shall be retained as evidence and the remainder disposed of by the evidence technician. For open bottle cases the container will be retained along with a sample of the contents of the container. (2) Beer kegs confiscated for loud party, keg violation, minor consumption and other charges are considered to have been illegally used and therefore considered to be forfeited property. Any questions/complaints by arrested individuals regarding lost deposit monies on these kegs should be directed to the County Attorney's Office. L. Found/Safekeeping Property: (1) In accordance with MN Statute 471.185, found property will be retained for a minimum of 90 days and then disposed of in accordance with departmental procedures. This applies only to property recovered by City of Red Wing Officers. (2) Items considered junk such as damaged or inoperative televisions, CPU monitors and damaged/vintage bicycles need not be retained for the 90 days and may be disposed of immediately at the discretion of the evidence technician. (3) Unclaimed found property deemed of use to the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office or the Red Wing Police Department will be designated for agency use. Unclaimed tools may be released to county or city maintenance personnel for use in their respective departments. The property and inventory receipt will be annotated to reflect this disposition and maintained with the case file in the records section. (4) Property entrusted to law enforcement for safekeeping will be retained for a minimum of 90 days. When the owner has not attempted to retrieve the property and all attempts to contact him/her (including sending certified letters) have been exhausted the property will then be treated as abandoned property and disposed of in accordance with this procedure. Page 6 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A M. Vehicles: Vehicles are impounded for a variety of reasons such as forfeitures for DWI and drugs, used in the commission of a crime or seized for a warrant search. (1) When a vehicle held for forfeiture has met all criteria for disposition the County Attorney's Office will notify the appropriate department. (2) Vehicles held as evidence by the Goodhue County Sheriff's Department shall be the total responsibility of the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office and dealt with in accordance with GCSO Policy 933. The extent of the Evidence Technician's responsibility for these vehicles is to enter them into the formal CIS system for accountability and close out the CIS record when they are disposed of. (3) Vehicles seized by the Red Wing Police Department will be disposed of as follows: Depending upon the reason for forfeiture one of the following actions will be initiated: (a) When the vehicle is forfeited for drugs, the applicable Southeast Minnesota Narcotics Task Force agent will be notified to pick up the vehicle. The agent will be provided the forfeiture documents and the associated tow bills for reimbursement to the applicable department. (b) When the vehicle is forfeited for alcohol impaired driving, necessary actions will be taken to re -title the vehicle. Once the new title is received the vehicle will be released to the appropriate auction service for disposal. (c) When a forfeited vehicle does not have a value of at least $500.00 it will be considered as a junk vehicle and released to a salvage operation for disposal. Normally, the investigator in charge of vehicle forfeitures and the evidence technician will research the vehicle's value and use their best judgment to make this evaluation. (d) If a vehicle is to be released to the owner, the person receiving the vehicle is responsible for satisfying applicable tow bills before the vehicle will be released. Additionally, a $10.00 per day storage fee may be charged commencing the day following notification to the owner that the vehicle may be retrieved. (e) The Red Wing Police Department and Goodhue County Sheriff's Office has the discretion to retain forfeited vehicles for department use rather then committing them to auction. (f) When a vehicle is abandoned in the impound lot or the owner refuses to take custody of it, a certified letter will be sent to the last known address of registered owner. The letter will state that they have 45 days to take custody of the vehicle or it will be disposed of. If the owner is unknown a notice of will be placed in Page 7 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A the local newspaper notifying the public of the impending disposition. When 45 days have elapsed and the owner had not contacted the Red Wing Police Department or the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office to make arrangements to retrieve the vehicle, the matter will be referred to the Goodhue County Attorney's Office for further proceedings to dispose of the vehicle. N. Deployed Taser Cartridges: Taser cartridges received as evidence will be retained for seven years. Page 8 of 8 DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE -POLICY 24A