- The Chicago Police Department was unable to locate a “significant volume” of evidence and property found or seized by its officers because the 2.2 million items are being inadequately protected, documented and stored, the city’s inspector general has found.During a seven-month audit that ended on July 20, Inspector General Joe Ferguson found that police employees “could not locate” 2.8 percent of items sampled from inventory records, nor could they find documentation for 3.8 percent of physical inventory sampled.“Therefore, we conclude that [police] internal controls failed to ensure that evidence and property were adequately protected, properly documented and readily available when required,” the audit states.
And this part is truly hilarious:
- A Police Department edict requires desk sergeants to ensure that all property approved for transfer to the Evidence and Recovered Property Section be sent there within seven days.But on April 11, the IG found that 38,394 of 41,302 items already approved for transfer had either not yet arrived at either of the two facilities or had been improperly logged by section employees.Chicago Police Department spokesperson Melissa Stratton said CPD worked “in partnership” with Ferguson to conduct the audit and has developed “rigorous new procedures” in response to its findings “to ensure the integrity of our facilities and any ongoing investigations.”
Since the Department got rid of "desk sergeants" almost 10 months ago it would seem they're in violation of a whole bunch of protocols. And evidently, Stratton has moved on from violating everybody's civil rights to commenting on crap she has no idea about.