Blogs

Fortress Plus Solutions: Ushering in a New Era in Evidence Management Efficiency Fortress Plus Solutions (FPS) supports law enforcement by offering off-site, long-term evidence storage, preservation, and comprehensive inventory management services. By partnering with FPS, departments can focus on their primary responsibilities—public safety and...

Across the nation, law enforcement agencies face a growing crisis in their evidence rooms. Here are just a few of the challenges they are experiencing: The facilities are filling to capacity. Some are operating over capacity. Inventory documentation isn’t keeping up. Procedures that violate evidence storage best practices may be used to accept...

Law enforcement agencies across the country face numerous operational challenges, but a recurring issue is their inability to manage the volume of physical evidence accumulating in their property and evidence rooms. It looks like this: The day comes when the last piece of evidence that can be stored properly is stored properly - in compliance...

It's easy for professionals to get a bit lax when discussing our profession. It's natural, and most folks we speak to know exactly what we mean. So, talk as you like, but in this case, let's make sure we know the difference. Of course, I'm referring to evidence room audits and inventories. These terms often get used interchangeably, but they are...

In today's legal landscape, properly managing criminal case evidence is one of the most critical and complicated tasks for any law enforcement agency. From maintaining decades-old evidence and documentation to managing inventories that have outgrown their storage space, departments grapple with potentially serious problems every day. These issues...

Remember William Shatner's voice-over during the opening credits for the original Star Trek TV series? It began: "Space. The final frontier." It perfectly set the stage for the ambitious new sci-fi series about the crew of a starship on a five-year mission to explore beyond our solar system into the reaches of seemingly infinite space. Outer...

Privatizing long-term evidence storage for law enforcement is a cost-effective, practical option for many agencies. However, the practice of safeguarding, handling, and storing criminal case evidence is governed by federal and state law, rules of evidence, and even the fundamentals of science in some cases. All these regulations must be strictly...

Traditionally, law enforcement agencies have stored evidence within in-house facilities. Now, they have an option for their long-term evidence storage. The private sector has stepped up and provided long-term evidence storage solutions for police agencies, and this option has proven quite valuable and effective. Many standards must be adhered to...

With police department's evidence and property rooms operating near, at, or over capacity all over the country, agencies are searching for workable solutions to tackle their lack of space. The problem isn't just that many have run out of storage space, but that situation also creates operational and regulatory compliance issues. An obvious...

Criminal case evidence must be stored within a secure facility, and chain of custody documentation must be maintained for each piece of evidence stored within it. In a perfect system, all evidentiary items are stored in adherence to regulations, in their proper environments, their exact locations are known, and they are easily retrievable. Law...

Congratulations! You have just been sworn in as a new chief of police. While you will have many opportunities to demonstrate your leadership abilities, ordering an evidence room audit can help set the tone of your administration. It immediately indicates that you value accountability, transparency, and integrity in yourself and your department....

Are you a sheriff or police chief whose agency needs more space in your aging evidence room? Are your access control, video, or alarm systems draining that maintenance line item of your budget? What about the HVAC system? Is it providing the varying temperature and humidity levels required for proper evidence preservation? Should we even mention...

What's one thing that Chicago's world-famous museums and art galleries, individual owners of valuable collections, and other organizations that store valuable or even priceless items have in common? They all have the opportunity to keep their precious collectibles in the same facility, with the same safeguards, that many local law enforcement...

Maintaining evidence integrity is necessary for any law enforcement agency for many reasons, one being that it's the law. Along with those federal and state laws come many other regulations, standards, and best practices that agencies must comply with. The sum of those regulations should equal evidence integrity if practiced.  Evidence room...

While a thorough evidence room audit will examine its operations, systems, and security, in most instances, the first benefit that comes to mind is ensuring the inventory is appropriately maintained and accounted for. It’s what police property and evidence rooms do. Regular audits of evidence rooms can uncover discrepancies in inventory...

When exploring the private sector's solution to your long-term evidence storage problems, there's much to consider. Private companies employ experienced professionals who utilize the industry's best practices and have facilities designed specifically for the job. Law enforcement personnel must plan for the transition, taking a deep research dive...

Law enforcement agencies have a legal and moral obligation to ensure the integrity of the criminal case evidence they maintain in their property and evidence facilities. Doing so is at the very foundation of a fair criminal justice system. Safeguarding and preserving evidence properly is guided by laws, standards, and specific procedures and...

Recently, the chief of a large U.S. city police department went before her city council to describe the "deplorable" conditions of her police headquarters building. The facility, built in 1968, was experiencing an infestation of cockroaches, rats, and other physical plant issues, making it nearly unworkable for its personnel.  A huge issue was...