The person receiving the evidence must safeguard it and maintain the chain of
custody until it is returned to the evidence custodian.
The evidence custodian
will release the original DA Form 4137 along with the evidence to the person who
assumes temporary custody, to first class registered mail, or to other transmittal
channels. The evidence custodian will then put the first copy of the DA Form 4137
in the proper suspense file.
The first (suspense) copy, with the "Chain of
Custody" properly notated, will be refiled with the original DA Form 4137.
When
items on the same DA Form 4137 must be temporarily released to more than one agency
or person at the same time, copies will be used and processed as above.
A note
will be made on the original and first copy that copies have been made. The "Chain
of Custody" for all evidence will be recorded on the first copy of the DA Form
4137.
Personnel receiving evidence, either on a temporary or a permanent basis,
will be required to present identification to ensure that evidence is only handled
by authorized persons.
Evidence that may be technically examined or analyzed in a crime laboratory will be
processed as soon as possible. Physical evidence will be released to the evidence
custodian before submission to a laboratory for analysis. At locations where there
is no evidence room or if timeliness is a factor, evidence may be sent directly to
the laboratory. In this case, DA Form 3655 (Crime Laboratory Examination Request)
will have instructions for the laboratory.
Instructions include how to transfer
the evidence to the proper evidence room. A copy of the evidence voucher will be
forwarded to the proper evidence room. Once received, the voucher should be logged
in the evidence ledger with the remarks "not inventoried, evidence at lab." The
voucher is then placed in the laboratory suspense file.
When evidence is mailed to a USACIL, it will be sent by first class registered
mail.
The registered mail number will be recorded in the "Received By" block on
the first copy of the DA Form 4137.
The form will be put in the laboratory
suspense folder.
The original document will be put inside the package.
The
recipient will note the proper "Item Number," "Received By," and "Released By"
blocks with appropriate information. The recipient will sign for the evidence in
the next "Received By" block. When the evidence custodian is assigned a group of
registered mail numbers, he will note the next "Received By" and "Released By"
blocks on the "Chain of Custody" sections.
This is done on the original DA Form
4137 before packaging the original document.
In this case, recipients need only
complete the item number and date columns. They must sign the next "Received By"
block on the "Chain of Custody." To ensure proper chain of custody, observe the
following steps:
1.
Follow technical guidance for packing and shipping evidence.
2. Packages will contain evidence from only one investigation to ensure a proper
chain of custody.
3. A USACIL will not make final disposition of any item submitted for examination.
A laboratory report will be prepared and returned to the requester with the
evidence submitted. This is done unless cancelled by the contributor.
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