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DPS evidence handling still ‘inadequate’—audit report
The handling of evidence at the Department of Public Safety remains inadequate and still needs improvement, a performance report from the Office of the Public Auditor said.
The OPA report released last week said the audit has been made on evidence preservation, accountability, and control at DPS.
In its previous audit way back in 2005, the OPA said it was “highly critical” of the DPS control and accountability with regards to recording and retention of evidence, compelling the OPA to conduct a second audit.
The OPA said the department made “initial progress” from 2006 to 2009. However, the operations again deteriorated to unacceptable levels.
In it findings, the OPA said the DPS Evidence Section “failed to properly account for and protect individual items of evidence.”
“Firearms seized and weapons submitted for safekeeping are inadequately documented, and in some cases, records are nonexistent,” the report said.
The OPA further said physical security at the Evidence Section is “inadequate” and that facility is also “multi-use” because Crime Scene Technicians also hold office in the same section.
The OPA said “updated, written policies and procedures were not completed until 2010 and were not distributed until the beginning of OPA’s current audit, and that certain existing policies and procedures are inadequate and do not meet acceptable standards.”
DPS, meanwhile, said it has already addressed these concerns, including mishandling of evidence.
DPS Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero also said the department has been working extensively with the OPA and the Office of the Attorney General to resolve these issues.
