Posted: January 30th, 2023
You are an administrative officer in a criminal justice agency, and a citizen calls you up to complain that one of your officers destroyed evidence instead of collecting it and impounding it into the evidence room. The agency has a policy that all evidence is to be impounded (seized) and transported to the evidence room. Additionally, state law prohibits the destruction of evidence.
Scenario
A coffee shop manager found a baggie of marijuana and a vial of hash oil that was left in the public rest room. The manager called your agency, and an officer was dispatched to the shop. The officer interviewed the manager and then explained to him that it was impossible to determine who the owner of the drugs is and that no charges could ever be pressed. Subsequently, the officer suggested that it would be best to flush the marijuana down the toilet and drain the hash oil down the sink. The manager agreed to the officer’s terms, and the officer instructed the manager to destroy the evidence. The manager destroyed the evidence in the presence of the officer.
Interview
You summon the officer into your office and ask him what happened. The officer explained that the manager agreed to destroy the evidence and that the officer made sure that he never personally touched it or destroyed it. The officer said that it would have been a waste of time to inventory the drugs, and do all of the paperwork, and transport the drugs to the evidence room downtown.
Begin your research by doing a Google search of the term chain of custody, and then answer the following questions in a 2-page paper:
This situation is a violation of agency policy and state law. The officer had a duty to impound the evidence, not to destroy it. The officer’s actions could also compromise any potential criminal case that may have arisen from the discovery of the drugs. It is important for the agency to conduct an internal investigation into the officer’s actions and take appropriate disciplinary action. If necessary, the agency should also report the officer’s actions to the appropriate state law enforcement agencies for further investigation. Additionally, the agency should ensure that proper training is provided to all officers to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
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