Original Article Audit: Police should store evidence better Holly Johnson The Arizona Republic Dec. 31, 2004 12:00 AM SCOTTSDALE - Scottsdale police need to find a better way to systematically enter and store evidence, a recent city audit found. The 99-page report found that the department failed to properly dispose of impounded property, money and firearms. Several recommendations can't be addressed until city ordinances are changed, Chief Alan Rodbell said. But the department has already remedied some of the issues outlined by City Auditor Cheryl Barcala. "We've put together a very aggressive schedule to meet every one of those 29 recommendations," Rodbell said. Some of the recommendations include changing the way invoices for impounded property are prepared, identifying and disposing of items dating to the late 1980s and developing a database for managing impounded property. The audit found that computerized and written documentation of impounded property does not accurately reflect whether that property has been released or destroyed. Some items in police possession may not be accounted for, and it's unknown how many pieces of unneeded evidence are in the department's possession. Often, property held has exceeded by decades the holding period required by law. State law dictates that officers submitting property to the unit must fill out a receipt of issue, but Scottsdale does not require that paperwork. The audit recommends police create a streamlined method of preparing invoices and ensure efficient processing. Police expect that to be completed by April. "This is basically housekeeping," Barcala said. "They need to undertake, first off, a systematic process to review the property they have and determine what can be disposed of." The report marks the first time the city has audited the Police Department's property unit. "I welcome audits," Rodbell said. "This is a way of coming in and looking at how we can operate more efficiently. The encouraging thing is they didn't find anything mishandled or lost for court purposes. Nothing was destroyed that shouldn't have been. We don't have employees taking items and using them for their own use." Rodbell said the volume of property seized by police makes it difficult for the understaffed property unit to get to old evidence. "We clearly work with a large number of cases where new stuff comes in, and we don't prioritize getting rid of the old stuff," he said. "You have a lot coming in that has to be processed, and little time is spent getting rid of the old stuff." Reach the reporter at holly. johnson@arizonarepublic.com.