To ensure property custody and control of evidence, all evidence shall initially be entered into the Evidence Manager and turned into the property room before the end of an officer’s shift. When the property room is closed, evidence shall be turned into the property room lockers, drying chambers, or when appropriate the evidence refrigerators.

Property Received in Evidence at Trial:

All such property, upon being received in evidence in court, shall be noted as turned over to the court in Evidence Manager and remain in the custody of the court until disposition is made by order of the court. The clerk of court shall be responsible for all such property and shall take steps to insure its safekeeping.

When evidence is no longer needed by the court, a sworn officer shall return the evidence to the property room. Property returned from the clerk of court will be received by the property room and noted in the Evidence Manager.

Property Marked as an Exhibit During Trial, But Not Received in Evidence:

The evidence shall be returned to the property room by a sworn officer. Property returned from court will be received by the property room and noted in the Evidence Manager.

Lost Property, Recovered, etc. (No Evidentiary Value):

Property that is of no evidentiary value that remains unclaimed and the true owner cannot be determined, should be disposed of according to paragraph one under “Final Property Dispositions” (General Order 439.12: Property Room Unit Procedures) by the unit head for which the property is being held, except that such property must be retained for 60 days before final disposition by property room staff.

Fingerprint Evidence:

An attempt should be made at the scene to lift any possible fingerprints. Items that have such a surface that the officer/evidence technician feels s/he would ruin the evidence, s/he should protect and collect the item for processing by the forensic services unit (FSU). The potential of such evidence should be noted in the officer’s report so that the investigator or case agent can request processing by the FSU.

  • Items to be processed for latent prints should be submitted in such a manner as to prevent accidental removal or smudging of prints; e.g., in a box, or in a large bag, etc.

  • Items to be processed for latent prints are not to be marked in any manner. The bar code label attached to the container holding the evidence will be sufficient identification.

  • Whenever possible, do not use plastic bags or containers that retain moisture to package evidence. Do not use packing materials like packing peanuts or bubble wrap as this may wipe away latent prints.

  • Latent lift cards should be marked as directed on the card. Refer to Forensic Services- latent lift training located under training on the intranet.

  • Latent lift cards should be turned into the property room during business hours or locker #99 outside operating hours.

  • Property submitted shall be recorded in the Evidence Manager and the circumstances surrounding how the property came into police custody will be included in the police report.

Protection of Evidence:

All measures should be taken to preserve and protect property of an evidentiary nature; a proper container should be used that will properly protect and preserve the item(s). Containers are also used to separate items to prevent cross contamination.

Chain of Evidence:

The first officer seizing an item of evidence should be the only one to handle same between the scene and the time it is placed in a locker or turned over to property room staff. All items will be described sufficiently in a police report and the Evidence Manager to enable the officer to identify the item at a later date and to provide the investigator with the necessary information to determine evidentiary value. Marking the evidence should be done with care and in an area that will not contaminate the evidence, i.e., do not write on paper to be tested for fingerprints, on shell cases, etc. Whenever possible, mark the evidence container rather than the evidence itself.

Marking of Physical Evidence:

The marking of physical evidence will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, depending in part on the prevailing judicial atmosphere. The following procedures should be used when submitting evidence that may or will be examined by the forensic services unit FSU.

Blood Alcohol:

•     Tubes with blood should be placed in a sealed envelope, with the bar code label attached to the envelope. Even during the hours the property room is open, Place DUI blood in the property room locker marked DUI blood/urine evidence; all other blood goes to the property room refrigerator.

DNA:

•     Possible DNA evidence collected with the DNA collection kit should be placed in the supplied envelope and sealed.

•     Envelope and property with a bar code label attached shall be placed in the property room or property room locker when the property room is closed.

CSC Evidence:

•     Clothing, bedding, and other evidence should be packaged in separate paper bags, not plastic and turned into the property room or property room locker when the property room is closed.

•     If, a full DNA examination for possible semen, blood, or other biological substances are necessary the investigator shall be responsible for getting such evidence transferred to the BCA for testing.

•     If an investigator wants a presumptive test for blood completed, the investigator shall complete the Forensic Services Examination Request Form (#288-13R1) that is located on the intranet under forms.

•     The form can be filled out electronically and sent to the FSU shared mailbox SPPD-ForensicServiceUnit@ci.stpaul.mn.us

•     Investigators/police personnel should not bring the evidence needing processed to the FSU, this will be handled by the FSU personnel.

Buccal Swabs:

  • Buccal swabs and completed forms should be placed in supplied envelope and sealed.(See General Order 439.04: Receipt for Property and Evidence)

    As a general rule, it is sufficient to seal the item in a container and appropriately mark the container, rather than mark the item itself.

    ECD Deployment Evidence:

    • When possible collect all portions of the spend cartridge(s) including the cartridge, probes, wires, and several AFIDS (cartridge identifying tabs) at the scene of the deployment.

    • The probes are placed into the spent cartridge and then placed into a plastic envelope bag. The plastic bag should then be placed in a paper bag prior to being turned into the property room.

    • If more than one cartridge is deployed, AFIDS from each cartridge must be recovered and turned into evidence.

    For ECD policy, see General Order 246.02: Authorized Force Tools, Description, Training Requirements, Uses and Considerations.

    Property Report and Bar Code Labeling:

    Officers shall submit all incoming property using the Evidence Manager. This program will allow the officer to note whether the item is to be held for evidence or for an owner; effectively identify the item; to establish an effective chain of custody, and; to obtain a property label to be adhered to the packaging material.

    Large Items:

    If an officer has a large item(s), the items shall be turned into the locked property cage area in the police garage after entering the property into the Evidence Manager. The property cage would also be appropriate if the article is unwieldy, cumbersome, or very heavy.

    1.   During operating hours for the property room a property clerk will open the storage area, store the articles, and accept the property into inventory.

    2.   During times when the property room is closed large items should be turned into one of the two drop cages in the garage and secured with the provided pad lock after being entered into the Evidence Manager.

    3.    If both lockers are utilized the Property and Evidence Manager or Unit Commander for the property room should be contacted via the watch commander.

    4.   If the items are too large for the drop cages they should be taken to the impound lot garage and entered into the Evidence Manager.  

    5.   After all property is listed in the Evidence Manager, all information about how property came into police custody shall be recorded in the police report and clearly document where the evidence was secured.

    Fingerprint Processing of Vehicles:

    Vehicles to be finger printed: Any stolen or suspected stolen vehicles that are recovered should be fingerprinted before towing (weather permitting).

    Hold for Forensic Services Unit (FSU):

    Vehicles to be processed for any additional type of trace evidence should be held for FSU and not processed for fingerprints by officers. Photographs will be taken of vehicles prior to towing.

    The officer initiating the towing of the vehicle will follow the vehicle to the impound lot building.

    Weapons:

    Firearms shall be turned in unloaded to the property room or when closed to a property room locker.

    If an officer is unable to make a firearm safe by unloading said weapon, the firearm is to be turned in to a property room locker and a magnetic card stating “loaded firearm” must be placed on the exterior of the locker.  See PowerPoint on making firearms safe under the training tab on the intranet homepage.  Also see General Order 439.02 Submitting Property/Evidence.

    Weapons shall be disposed of in accordance with Saint Paul Administrative Code, Chapter 8: Department of Police and Saint Paul Administrative Code 8.02 (5): Departmental Functions.

    Revised July 24, 2019

Last Edited: July 24, 2019