District cops "lose" guns, drugs, money from evidence warehouse, audit says

Michael Neibauer
Examiner
May. 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Metropolitan Police Department lost guns, drugs and cash seized as evidence and jeopardized criminal prosecutions by failing to secure its evidence warehouse and databases, a scathing new audit finds.

After inspecting the MPD’s Evidence Control Branch, the D.C. inspector general concluded that the department “is not achieving its mission [of] preserving the integrity of evidence in its custody.” Property records were in disarray, unauthorized personnel were allowed unregulated access to property vaults, evidence was lost and no one could say who had access to the computerized evidence database.

There is a “high risk that individuals may have inappropriate access and the ability to alter data without detection,” the IG found.

The evidence warehouse contains about 2 million items. Auditors sought to locate a sample of 120 from three categories — 40 each from weapons, drugs and money — but failed to find more than a third.

Among the 49 lost items: $16,453 in currency, seven revolvers, one shotgun, one BB gun, one derringer, marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine.

MPD’s evidence is stored in an aging leased facility that the IG, in previous audits, determined was not secure and was falling apart. A new, D.C.-owned warehouse is slated to open within two years.

Underscoring the vulnerability of evidence controls was a power outage last November that destroyed two hard drives with critical data that had not been backed up. The crash “may have a profound impact on the ability of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to successfully prosecute criminal cases,” auditors wrote.

Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. attorney, said no cases have been dismissed as a result of the District’s evidence-related problems, though some criminal counts might have been dropped due to lost evidence.

In her written response to the audit, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the evidence control warehouse has been a source of concern, “and this report only strengthens my resolve to remedy the issues.” She said the evidence branch will perform regular spot inventories and unauthorized personnel will be locked out of the property records office and the database.